CHAPTER NINTY-FOUR
Beware Little Old Ladies

AN: to narutonarutolove; you are quite correct, I did mean 'groan' instead of 'grown'. Oops. But I don't feel like going through the hassle of redoing that whole chapter for one word…ugh…okay, you may now throw rotten tomatoes at me for my laziness.

(Rosmund holds out both arms and shuts her eyes tight) FIRE AWAY!

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BOBBY DRAKE / ICEMAN

The Bus Stop

The amount of time spent waiting for the bus to show up felt like years. Each second was like another month of his life gone, and he spent it in a nervous terror, certain that he would feel claws ripping into his back, his stomach, disemboweling and decapitating.

And in the midst of this nervous breakdown he was trying his hardest to keep up a cool and calm façade. Still, when the bus rolled to a stop infront of the bench and the doors slid open, he practically sprang up like a jack-in-the-box to get inside the vehicle.

"Now, now, son, no need to rush, I'll wait." The bus driver laughed at Bobbys launch into his bus.

Bobby managed a sheepish smile at the pudgy man. "Sorry, sir."

The little old lady boarded after him, her knitting in her bag. "He's going to try out for the track team." She said sagely, smiling toothily at the bus man. Bobby would bet his laptop that those teeth were dentures.

"Maybe I should make you run then, huh?" the bus-driver asked "Build up that lung power."

"No thank you, sir." Bobby pushed out another smile, hurried taking a seat in the middle. He would have loved to sit all the way in back, but his anxious entrance had already gathered unwanted attention; isolating himself way in the back would probably make that worse.

The Ice-man took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying to meditate like the Wolverine—of all people!—had tried to teach them once in class, but quickly gave that up for a lost cause and fumbled his cell phone out of his pocket to switch it on. Soon, he would have to ditch the thing (he didn't want to leave any kind of electronic trail) but there was at least some time to text Cerise to expect him.

Quickly, he typed in a message, being careful of his wording.

'Heah, blue. Got an unexpected break in school.

Hang out at the movies? I hear one of those

Thriller 'get-away' movies are on.'

Which translated to; something bad has happened (hence the 'unexpected break in school') and he needed to get away fast (which made up the 'thriller-get-away' movie part). He hit send just as the little old lady sat down next to him.

Bobby bit back his groan of irritation and smiled charmingly at the old woman. "Heah."

"Hello, dearie." The old lady pulled out her knitting again and began to make little loops with the yarn onto one long needle. "You are in an awful hurry. Not in some sort of trouble, I hope?"

"No, ma'm, everythings' just fine." Bobby said calmly, surprised that his jaw wasn't cracking with his smiles.

The old lady smiled back and something about her grin gave Bobby pause; was it just him, or were a few of her teeth pointed?

`Don't be stupid, iceman.` the ice-manipulating mutant thought to himself. `You're full of adrenaline, so you're seeing things. It's not like they make vampire dentures for little old ladies.`

The old lady nodded again, like some kind of female Yoda. Her cats-eye glasses slipped dangerously down her little nose and she pushed them back up with one finger.

`….whoa…..` Bobby fought back a gulp. There was no ignoring it. This woman had one heck of a nail going on; sharp and pointy and black. What was this, the age of the Goth Grandmas?

"I hope you'll make lots of friends on this track team of yours." The old lady crooned.

"Yes, I'm sure I will."

"Just make sure they're the right kind of friends."

Okay, now he was starting to get a little spooked. What did this crazy old bat mean about the 'right kind of friends'? Still, he played it smooth and cool. "I will Ma'm, don't worry." The old woman continued as if she hadn't even heard him.

"The powerful kind. Yes, it's good to have powerful friends…..friends in high places…"

Definite red alert. Alarms were now flaring in Bobbys head. He sat ramrod straight, goose-bumps rising on his skin. Trying to be discreet, he glanced around, but—go figure—he, the old lady, and the bus driver were the only ones on the bus.

Forcing himself to relax, he leaned back in the uncomfortable, vinyl bus seat, gathering his power. He always felt a tingle when he was getting ready to use his mutation, something like a shiver in his fingers that then went all over his body.

"And if you have friends like that—" the old lady continued her knitting "—it's best not to anger them, don't you agree?"

"Yes, ma'm, I thi—"

The old woman turned to smile at him and Bobbys breath caught in his throat. His entire body felt like it had turned to stone; he couldn't move, not even if there had been a train barreling down ontop of him.

The little old ladies eyes were pitch black with no white, like holes in her head. Her smile showed all pointed teeth, jagged and sharp like a great whites. "No, you don't want to double-

cross Thanatos. It's best that you do what he wants, dearie."

His heart almost stopped.

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AN: Dun dun DUUUN! CLIFF HANGER! MWA HA HA HA HA coughcough.

VOCABULARY:

DISEMBOWLING: to remove the bowels or entrails from; eviscerate. 2. To cut or slash open the abdomen.

FAÇADE: a grand or fine front that is meant to conceal something that is not at all grand. (In Cassie-speak; a mask, a pretending)

DISCREET: careful about what one says or does; prudent

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CITATIONS:

"disemboweling." Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. 23 Apr. 2014. browse/disemboweling.