Chapter 42: Marvelous Progress
It had been about a week since the dance. And a week since Beast had accidentally been mistaken as Bigfoot during a retreat in the woods. Luckily, no one had seen anyone using their powers, not even Principal Kelly. Now everything was finally settled down and Spring Break had finally begun.
At the Institute, everyone was trying to enjoy their break from school as best they could. One person of which being Chelsea, who was currently in the kitchen feeding her pet tortoise Mr. T something to eat.
As the small reptile ate, Marcus walked in. "Hey, Chelsea, mind if we talked? There's something I really need to talk to you about." The man told her as he sat at the table with her.
"What's up?" She asked as she fed another piece of lettuce to her favorite turtle.
"Well, I've been giving this a lot of thought ever since Gav told me you had a boyfriend…" He started. "And, I think that for both our sakes it'd be best to get everything about our… 'Relationship' out in the open so it doesn't cause us any problems down the line."
"... Yeah, I kinda figured that after seeing Logan's reaction when you got here." The blonde nodded. The two then looked at each other and took deep breaths and then she spoke again. "Look, let me be the first to say that I definitely felt something towards you all those years back, I'm not gonna lie."
"Same here, I have always liked you a lot. Though, I think we both know that our hearts weren't in it." He sighed.
"Yeah, and as time went on, I guess I just let those feelings turn into a different kind of 'love' I guess, I honestly started to care about you the same way I did Gavin: as a brother." She nodded.
"Me too, I honestly think of you more as family then as a lover. I guess I was just kind of confused at the time." Marcus shrugged. The two were silent for a moment before Chelsea leaned towards him and gave him a quick peck on the lips, Marcus was a little surprised but just went with it before she pulled back.
"So… Did that make you feel anything? Are those romantic feelings still there?" She asked.
"... No, not really." He shrugged nonchalantly after a moment of thought. He had thought he would have felt something, but, instead he didn't feel anything at all. "I guess we really did move past it, and didn't even realize."
"Yeah, you're right." The dragoness shrugged in agreement. There was a moment of silence as Chelsea continued feeding her turtle. "So… What now?" She asked idly.
"I dunno, guess we could just go back to being friends? Plus I'd kinda like to make up for lost time… Wanna go get a drink with Romano and Logan?" The molecular energy user suggested.
"Eh, sure. Just let me finish feeding Mr. T first." She replied as she fed her pet the rest of his food.
Though unbeknownst to both of them, Logan had witnessed the whole thing. Although he could understand his girlfriend's position because of his past history with Mariko Yashida being so similar, he was still very jealous as any boyfriend would be.
'Both of you are gonna have a talk with me later.' He thought as he walked away.
(Elsewhere)
Johan was with Bast in New York City, taking the cat woman to a restaurant that sold Gaza food, wanting to let her have some food like she would eat at home. Upon arriving, they were taken to a booth and were given their menus.
"How did you even find this place?" The catwoman asked as she looked at the drinks available.
"Wasn't too hard. New York is known for having a really diverse food culture, so finding a place that did middle eastern food wasn't too hard to find after I asked around." The man shrugged while looking at his menu.
"Fair point." She conceded. After a bit, she decided to go with a simple glass of water while Johan went with coffee. "So, I'm curious, what exactly did SHIELD have you do to become the soldier you are now?" She wondered, her catlike curiosity showing.
"That's an interesting story." He chuckled. "When I signed up for them, they told me I had to remain tightlipped in a makeshift interrogation, no matter what methods they used, in order to be accepted. The test was about resolve, and boy howdy did I pass with flying colors. I did get the wind knocked out of me, no denying that, but I didn't sing for them." He explained. "After that, I voluntarily got the adamantium treatment. Hurt like hell, but it was worth it. The nanotech… Is a different story." He said as he tried to best explain his nanotech.
Bast tried her best to follow along with what he was saying as they ordered their meal, though had a hard time doing so. Though what she really wanted to know was:
"When we first met, why didn't you say you were a SHIELD agent?" She asked.
"Part of the reason was secrecy. The other part…" He paused as he tried to find the right words. "... Had to do with me not knowing you were captured by HYDRA before, I guess." He finished.
"Yeah, that part's a bit of a touchy subject for me and the rest of my friends." She nodded. "Though I will say one thing, it's kinda nice being able to have someone to talk to who isn't a mutant, but doesn't judge you for being, well, a mutant." She said as she gestured to her body.
"My parents were some pretty open minded folks, and that was something that they made sure they taught me and my sister. It really proved fruitful in my case when my sister's powers manifested for the first time and my response was to hug her." He explained with a smile. "I'm sure they'd like you." He added.
"Thanks. Hey speaking of, what's with her powers anyway?" Bast asked while brushing her pixie cut hair away from her face.
"Oh, don't even start on making me go down that rabbit hole…" Johan told her as their conversation went towards his sister.
(Elsewhere)
Back at the Institute, Katerina was in the middle of giving Xavier the demonstration of her powers she had promised him weeks prior. Jean and Emma Frost were present as well to see how well her abilities affected the minds of powerful telepaths.
"Alright, everything is in place. We're ready when you are, Katerina." Jean said through the speaker.
"Alright, let's get started." The woman in question said as eldritch energy enveloped her hands. Throwing it up into the air, the two blobs of energy landed at the two women's feet, causing them to clutch their heads as the Stacks of Insanity and Torment started to settle in.
"What is this?!" Jean questioned.
"My power. I can cause people to suffer from insanity to any degree. On top of that, I can do this." She explained before going into her Cthulhu form, causing the two telepaths to take a few steps back in shock and, in Jean's case, slight fear.
"W-w-w-what the-?!" The redhead sputtered.
"How in the world?!" Emma gasped in surprise.
"Yep, this is very real." The transformed woman said as she flexed her wings. "So, how are your heads handling my powers?" She asked.
"I'm just barely able to keep myself from going insane." Emma said, now in her diamond form, which cut off any effects the attack may have had on her psyche and stopped the progression of the Stacks of Insanity and Torment.
"Me… Too!" Jean grunted, clutching her head with her eyes shut.
"I've got a few other things to show, but first…" Katerina trailed off before removing the Stacks of Insanity and Torment from the two so they could focus on what's coming next.
Both women fell to their knees in near exhaustion. "What else… Could you possibly be able to do?" Emma asked.
Smirking, the eldritch woman and her tentacles grab the platinum blondie, much to her surprise as she looks at the owner of the appendages. "Does this answer your question?" She asked rhetorically as her tentacles felt her up. Emma blushed as she felt the boneless appendages move around her body and go close to some areas that she'd rather not have touched at the moment.
"C-c-could you put me d-down please?" She asked with a stutter.
"You certainly are nice and soft Miss Frost, very squishy." The woman grinned, her tentacles squeezing telepath's ample and plump breasts. Gavin's councilor moaned quietly in pleasure at the feeling.
"So that's what the others meant by a weird fetish…" Jean noted with a slight shiver while Xavier decided to speak up as two of Katerina's tentacles started to slip into Emma's pants.
"Can we please move on? I do believe there are other things for you to show us that are not related to what you're doing." He stated, causing the Cthulhu woman to stop her actions before setting a heavily blushing Emma on the ground.
"Right. Sorry, got distracted there." She apologized sheepishly. "Alright, let's continue…" She said as the tests resumed.
(Elsewhere)
In the Bayville music store, Gavin and Rogue were inside trying to decide on what to get for themselves. They both liked getting each other's opinions on different things, mainly because it usually helped each of them out.
"So I saw on the news that the Bayville Sirens were at it again." Gavin brought up as he picked up a Beastie Boyz album and looked it over.
"And they're doin' some good, too. There are a ton of things they're dealing with that the police are probably ignoring." Rogue chirped as she browsed the selection.
"Makes me wanna meet them, I like their style." The boy said as he rummaged through more music. Rogue did the same, but when she moved to another section she bumped into a blonde woman and her skin accidentally touched some of Rogue's for more than the 15 second 'okay' limit causing her powers to act up.
Acting fast, Gavin tried to pull her away from the woman before it caused too much commotion, but he couldn't seem to get the two to separate, and by the time he did, it had been well over three minutes.
"Come on Rogue, snap out of it, we gotta move!" He told her while trying to shake her awake. People started to get there. "Hey someone call an ambulance while I get my friend home, she's had a seizure and I think that woman's been knocked out!" He told one of the people.
"On it." Someone replied as they dialed 911 on their phone. The pseudo vampire then grabbed Rogue bridal style before putting her in his car and driving back to the Institute.
Once there he immediately carried her inside. "Hey, guys! I need help! Bast, Beast! Get down here quick!" He called frantically. Seconds later everyone came back from what they were doing, save Bast and Johan who were still in New York.
"What's wrong, Gavin?" Ororo asked in concern.
"Rogue made skin contact with someone, and I couldn't separate them for three minutes! Now Rogue won't wake up!" He said in slight panic. "Where's Bast?!" He asked, looking around for the Institute's doctor.
"She's in New York with Johan!" Beast replied as he picked the unconscious girl up and carried her to the infirmary. "She sustained contact for three minutes straight, you say?"
"Five if you count the two minutes it took me to separate them, yeah. How bad is that?" The boy asked.
"Physically? Not very much. Mentally? Considerably." The blue mutant said as he set the two toned girl on the infirmary bed.
"How considerable are we talking here?" The horror fan asked.
"She'll most likely need to have a mental barrier put in place to avoid any lingering effects of the person's psyche from effecting her own, or worse, take over." The ape-like man explained.
"I'll give Emma a call to help out, then." Gavin said as he whipped his phone out.
"No need." The blonde said as she walked in. "I'm already here." She then knelt next to Rogue and started working on the barrier, and as she did, she was able to see just who she had drained.
"Okay, this might be trouble." She said as she finished putting the barrier in place.
"Why?" Gavin asked.
"Because she's absorbed power from Carol Danvers, aka Ms. Marvel." The platinum blondie revealed, getting looks of shock in return.
"Wait, Ms. Marvel? Isn't she, like, a cosmic level super hero?" Kitty asked.
"She was, now she's just a rundown drunk who sleeps with every random man who comes her way, talk about a big disappointment." Chelsea scoffed, earning a few glares. "Or at least, so I've heard." She added.
Marcus seemed to stiffen. He remembered there being a Carol Danvers in his rehab group, though he had no idea that she was a superhero.
"Do you think she'll be okay? Rogue, I mean." Gavin asked.
"She'll be fine. Give her a few hours of rest, and she should be up again." Emma replied, calming the boy down.
"And what about Ms. Marvel?" Jean questioned in concern.
"Someone called an ambulance as I got Rogue back here. She should be fine… I hope." He replied while muttering the last part.
Everyone then left the Southern Belle to let her rest, well, everyone except Gavin, who stayed with her until he fell asleep next to the bed she was in. However he was woken up by the girl's voice at around nine o'clock at night.
"Uh, Gavin?" Rogue asked. The boy slowly woke up before he shot up in alarm when he saw what was going on with her: she was floating! And she had cosmic energy flowing around her.
"What the-?! What's going on?!" The boy asked in shock. His yells seemed to have alerted Bast, who had just returned a few hours prior and was going to the infirmary to check on the two, only to be gobsmacked by what she saw.
"What in the world is this?!" She yelled with wide eyes.
The commotion seemed to catch the attention of Xavier, who called the others to the infirmary to see what was going on, and they all shared the two's reaction.
"Ah-Ah don't know how Ah'm doing this! A little help would be nice!" The girl exclaimed as she tried to control herself.
Gavin quickly grabbed her hand and slowly coaxed her down as the glow went away, leaving her to sit on the bed, a hand placed on her forehead.
"Wh-What happened to me?" She asked tiredly.
"You sustained contact with a woman named Carol Danvers for at least five minutes, and somehow, have permanently absorbed some of her powers." Xavier explained.
"Ah what?!" She exclaimed in shock before holding her head. "Ugh, this is too much of a headache right now." She groaned.
"Alright, alright! Everybody out, everybody out, come on!" Gavin said as he started pushing everyone out the door. "I'll see you in the morning." He told her as he left as well, leaving the girl alone to finally rest.
(Elsewhere)
Gavin was about to climb into his coffin after putting on his PJs when his phone suddenly rang. Picking it up, he answered, and found that the one person he didn't want to talk to was on the other end.
"Gavin, we need to talk." Mystique's voice said, causing him to growl.
"Mystique… What do you want?" The boy asked angrily, his grip on his phone tightening.
"I'm in need of two favors from you." She told him.
"And what things could you possibly need me to do, and what for?" He growled. "More importantly: what makes you think I'd do you any favors?" He added callously.
"How about the fact that it's the only way you'll get possession of Damian?" She retorted. Gavin froze for a moment before sighing angrily. He was going to regret this, and he knew it.
"What the flying fuck is it you could possibly need from me?" He questioned.
"I'm just going to need you to do two simple tasks. Now be quiet and I'll tell you what they are…" she said as she started explaining what she had in mind, and Gavin listened with anger boiling up in his stomach.
(Elsewhere)
Romano was working on the XTVs in the garage when he suddenly got a message from Katerina. 'Hey, you wanna grab a drink with me?' It read.
The man looked at the message before responding and cleaning himself off. Looks like he had something to do this spring break after all…
Dragon Emperor0: So… That all happened. Boy and this is the chapter before HeX Factor, what could Mystique be planning?
ThermalsniperN7: If I had to guess, things that could cause Gavin to sic Katerina on her when it's all said and done.
Dragon Emperor0: Also quick disclaimer, since I'm using many of the MCU versions of the characters in this story (ie. Nick Fury and the Avengers), I'd like you all to know that I'll be strictly using the X-men Evolution version of Scarlet Witch in this story. Also, I will not be using Brie Larson's Ms. Marvel. Reason being because when I saw the movie I felt like it was attacking me personally and us guys in general. And I just don't like those kinds of vibes. Really depresses me.
ThermalsniperN7: With that out of the way, see you guys next chapter!