AN: Only one character is introduced in this little chappy here, but I
SWEAR that in the next chapter, all the new characters will have (at least)
been mentioned. Okies? Okies.
*****
*Chapter Three: Let Me Go*
We were such punk-ass kids but we knew everyone
And who could see through such blazed-up bloodshot eyes
There was a plan for us one day we'd realize
~Good Charlotte
*****
"Like, has anyone seen my hairbrush? I can't find it!"
"Yo, man, it was just a joke!"
"I think it was in the wohnzimmer, Kitty."
"Well, it wasn't funny, Spyke!"
"What's going . . .? Oh, man, you're kidding me! Hahahaha!"
"Vone-what?"
"Keep laughing ice-man!"
"The living room!"
"Guys, calm down!" a new voice, unheard by the occupants.
"It's, like, not there Kurt!"
"Argh!"
"Hey, woah, watch the hair Berserker!"
"Everybody, just SHUT UP!"
They did, frozen in mid-action. Scott and Jean - Jean was frowning while Scott hid a grin - stood in the living room foyer underneath the large arching doorway.
Ray was dripping with lemonade and peaches stuck to him with pudding, some of the cups still on him. Bobby was laughing - Berserker holding him in a headlock along with a gleefully guilty Spyke. Kitty had finally found her brush and Kurt was on the chandelier hanging upside down. Rogue walked in from the other door, proceeding to sit down and listen to her headphones.
"Now," Jean said, smiling happily once they were just blinking at her. "That's better. I'd like for everyone to sit down. The Professor has some important news."
***
"So let me get this straight: I'm a *pawn* for Mystique to use against this bald guy, "Xavier", to let mutants take over the world. That is, in theory."
Lance nodded, leaning against her door casually, keeping one eye on Bill who had been staring at him ever since they'd come into the room.
Neona growled and punched her fist into the wall. "That bitch."
"Better than living on the streets."
"That and she can't *make* me do a *damn* thing!" This time she kicked her bed, making it lurch.
Lance sighed and reached into his pocket, pulled out a toothpick and began to chew.
"So, how'd she find you?"
"What?"
"I said," Lance reiterated, "how did Mystique find you?"
"Don't know."
"Hmph."
Bill jumped gracefully out the window suddenly, wobbling along a shaky branch, his tail whisking back and forth predatorily.
"Why? Why the *hell* would that - that woman want an 'army' of mutants anyway? We're goddamn powerful! If we're threatened, we can handle it. But an army? Effing crazy."
"You don't like humans, huh?"
"No. You?"
"Some are okay. Some. But for the most part, no."
She sat on her bed, reaching into her bag and pulled out a packet of tic- tacs. She spilled near five or seven into her hand, before popping them all into her mouth.
Lance peered
_[blanched]_
at the site with his nose scrunched curiously. "Mutant. You like it?"
"No."
His brow furrowed, the premature lines deepening. "Why not?"
She snapped her head in his direction, glaring at him, that painful
_[wondrously blissful]_
feeling welling up inside her. "You look normal. You can walk among them without them knowing. I *can't*. Even with a trench coat."
He smirked "Who cares?"
"I do!" she snapped, rising to her feet.
She started to walk towards him, eyes flashing a loathsome red, when she stopped suddenly, the brown trickling back in. She looked around back towards where she'd been sitting, then clutched a hand to her head. "Get out," she hissed.
"No problem," he bit back, slamming the door on his way, trying to discern just WHAT her problem was.
***
Things looked as if nothing had happened since . . . well, quite a while now.
Everybody was in their normal spot (that is to say - Wanda reading, Todd flipping through the television, Pietro gone) and Blob was back in the kitchen trying to salvage dinner somehow.
Lance calmed himself (or at least, tried to) as he - briskly, he thought numbly, remembering one of his foster mothers' favorite word - into the living room, plopping back down.
"I'm bored, yo," Todd said immediately.
"You're always bored."
"Yeah, but this time I'm really, really bored," he said, hopping over to Wanda, but he didn't say anything or move to touch her. He instead read over her shoulder.
Wanda frowned, fighting with herself on whether or not to tell him to get away from her, but decided against it. At least, until he _did_ do something.
"Where's the girl - Neona?"
"Upstairs, Todd." Lance sighed.
"Dinner!" Blob bellowed.
Toad zipped (if that's what it was) out of the room; Wanda followed with Lance right behind.
'If anything, she's just as quiet,' he thought, thinking blearily to the time when she'd come home with Toad, the male mutant pulling them all into the kitchen and explaining to them what had happened - Magneto had brainwashed her.
Neona came down the stairs, walking with deliberate steps, seemingly having a conversation with herself.
"Trouble?"
She stopped her inner monologue, head snapping up, eyes focusing.
"Looks like you've got a stick up your ass is all."
She dived then, knocking the white-haired boy down as he had just entered the house.
Lance laughed at Pietro's stunned expression, though he himself was a little surprised; Pietro hadn't even been that mean to Tabitha her first hour.
"Close the door, Pietro," he choked out between laughs, enjoying the cries and swears ringing throughout the air. He just doubted the neighbors would share his opinion.
Once he got into the kitchen, the other three were poking their heads around, trying to learn what all the ruckus was about.
"Pietro said Neona was walking like she had a stick up her ass." Lance informed (them) nonchalantly.
"Wow, really?" Fred asked, taking a bite into his food.
Gone were the casseroles - or whatever dish he had prepared - and now large sandwiches resided in their place.
He sat down in his own spot, eating happily.
He heard a few more crashes and then both Wanda and Neona came back looking smug.
"What an asshole," Neona said simply, sitting herself in what was normally Pietro's seat. She opened the sandwich and began to take off all the cheese, using it to wipe off the mayonnaise.
"That's a waste," Lance said simply, though in the way his body posture had changed, one could sense it bothered him.
Neona, quite frankly, didn't give a damn.
Instead, she arose and threw it away. Pulling out a cigarette from a small pocket in her skirt, lighting it with a match she struck on the stove. She inhaled deeply walking over to him, blowing the smoke right into his face. "I am a waste. We all are. Get. The. Hell. Over. It."
Lance pounded his hands on the table, standing up sharply. He stood next to Neona, staring her down as he was a rather good deal taller than her
_[like Kitty]_
"Don't waste your food here. We're lucky we've got anything as it is."
She smirked, "You're like an old man."
Then she turned heel and walked back up to her room.
She didn't come down for the rest of the night, either.
***
The next morning, Monday, she did come back down, looking haggard and more diminished than she had the day before.
"Hurry up, you got school."
"What?"
"Mystique enrolled you, she called last night. Now put on the trench and hurry up." Lance finished, heading out the door to the jeep, waiting for Pietro to get back with the gas.
Tabitha came down the stairs, still spritzing her hair with spray. "Hey, girl!" she exclaimed, smiling as she noticed Neona. "You disappeared last night. Anyway, c'mon, don't wanna be late the first day right?" She rolled her eyes and threw Mystique's coat at her, picking up her own on her way out.
Neona stood at the doorway, frozen in shock. School. She'd never gone to a school before.
Ever.
"Fuck," she muttered, flying up to her room quickly and grabbing grabbed two items, then headed back downstairs, swooping down to catch the coat, throwing it on as she walked out.
"Fuck me in the eye!" She said again, hopping into the jeep next to an encouraging Tabitha.
Neona dismally noticed that Wanda was not coming with them.
Lance was filling up the tank as Pietro stood next to him, both talking in a hushed, heated way.
"You'll like Bayville. You can get away with pretty much anything here," Tabitha said, taking a drink out of a water bottle.
"Unless they know you're a mutant," Todd grumbled from the klepto's other side.
"Then I guess I'm in deep shit."
"They can't do anything about it," Tabitha said, placing a hand on Neona's shoulder. Neona growled and the blonde backed off.
Blob was clambering into the very rear of the jeep as Lance hopped in, smirking at Pietro who zipped off on his own. Lance started the jeep and they were off.
*****
Needless to say, her first day wasn't exactly a hit.
She got lost more times than she could count and so many people had turned to stare as she walked past, she She had to carry all her books seeing as she couldn't put anything on her back.
Speaking of her back - Oh, how it ached! She'd never really had to worry about her wings so consistently, or keep them locked closely to her body like today. A tingling sensation had set in about second period, and by fourth had spread up the entirety of her body.
That's why, during fifth, she was out heading toward the unoccupied football field smoking a cigarette, fiddling with her lighter - the two things she'd grabbed that morning.
She always had tic-tacs on her and she'd periodically chew on them between cigs.
There was another person slouching against the stands under the shade of the seats, the mist dancing across their features.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Go ahead."
The boy was interesting to look at.
Boy.
Yeah, he was a boy she decided with a mental firm nod.
He had long hair a soft velvety blue color about to his neck, with a fringe hanging to his cheekbone covering one eye. Between the hair, she saw a piercing silver eye, his other one - the left - amber. His facial features were somewhat girly, but she thought it made him more exotic. He had a short stature from what she could tell and he was lanky. Very lanky. He was wearing a plain black hoodie and she could tell a black shirt was underneath. His black trainer shoes had the laces flayed out in every which way and his jeans had long cuffs and were wearing out at the knees.
"You come here often?"
"First day here." Was the short reply.
She glanced over at him from the corner of her eye, surprisingly at ease with his presence.
"Mine too," she said finally. "Joined a Brotherhood just the other day."
"Institute. Guy by the name of Xavier."
In the middle of what was being a very good drag indeed, she inhaled sharply, the smoke sniping at the back of her throat and she began to cough.
"I take it you've heard of it."
Neona took a deep breath and looked around and upon deciding the coast was clear took off her jacket and spread her wings with a heaving sigh of relief. "Poor bastards have been cooped up all damn day," she said flatly, peering at them, examining closely for any damage even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see it.
"You look like a ghoul," he said, but his expression was light and she gave an almost arrogant smirk.
"What do you do?"
"Mutant powers don't affect me."
"Oh, really?"
"Yup. But if you want technicalities, if you were to hit me, it'd hurt like you were only a human hitting me."
"Nice accent."
He looked at her, wondering just how to reply to that. Instead, he said nothing and they both lapsed into silence, just smoking cigarette after cigarette.
From afar, as they were both lost in their own thoughts, the bell rang and classes were changing.
Neona stood up first, grabbing her coat and whisking it, sadly, back on. "Maybe I'll see you around."
"Maybe you will. Maybe you won't."
"It'll probably be just to kick your ass. So when it does happen, don't take it personally."
"Oh I don't know if I can do that. I know you so well, it would mar me to the core if you were to betray me like that," he said lightly, only a trace of sarcasm lining his voice: obviously a master of the art.
"The name's Neona by the way."
"Dainton."
"Alright."
"Good-bye for now, then, Onna."
"Onna?"
"Japanese. It means woman."
"Alright." She started to walk back. "Goodbye Clayton!"
"Dainton!"
"Don't matter, I know who you are."
*****
Dude, and there you have it.
I have GOT to thank my Beta (teehee) Dead Caffeine Junkie for beta-ing. She KICKS TOTAL ASS! *GLOMP*
Anyway, I've got a few pages of Chapter4 written, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to get that up. But, anyway, please review/critique (critiquing would really be nice *hint-hint*) and tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Until next time:
Love and Peace,
-Holly
THE FINAL CAST:
MAJOR characters:
1) Michael "Ghost" Graves who is owned by Emerald Knight1. Michael is on the X-Men team.
2) Keely "Numb" Woodrow who is owned by Mickey. Keely is on the X-Men team.
3) Denise Lynn "Vesuvius" Saylors who is owned by Dee Saylors. Denise is the on the Brotherhood team.
4) Dainton Gabriel "Vaccine" Hazard who is owned by Deaf Caffeine Junkie.
MINOR characters (but don't fear, they'll be in the story plenty I promise, and hell, they could get a chapter to themselves, you never know)
1) Ryan "Lynx" Archer who is owned by roguephoenix. Ryan is an X-Men.
2) Abigail "Heartstar" Lesthour who is owned by sierraheart. Abigail is an X-Men.
3) Lucca James "Shatter" Bolton who is owned by Sycommansonboy. Lucca is an X-Men.
4) Lauren "Intwine" McCann who is owned by cheeky-bear007. Lauren is also an X-Men
I apologize from the bottom of my heart if your character was not chosen. I know how that's like, and I am SOOO sorry.
*****
*Chapter Three: Let Me Go*
We were such punk-ass kids but we knew everyone
And who could see through such blazed-up bloodshot eyes
There was a plan for us one day we'd realize
~Good Charlotte
*****
"Like, has anyone seen my hairbrush? I can't find it!"
"Yo, man, it was just a joke!"
"I think it was in the wohnzimmer, Kitty."
"Well, it wasn't funny, Spyke!"
"What's going . . .? Oh, man, you're kidding me! Hahahaha!"
"Vone-what?"
"Keep laughing ice-man!"
"The living room!"
"Guys, calm down!" a new voice, unheard by the occupants.
"It's, like, not there Kurt!"
"Argh!"
"Hey, woah, watch the hair Berserker!"
"Everybody, just SHUT UP!"
They did, frozen in mid-action. Scott and Jean - Jean was frowning while Scott hid a grin - stood in the living room foyer underneath the large arching doorway.
Ray was dripping with lemonade and peaches stuck to him with pudding, some of the cups still on him. Bobby was laughing - Berserker holding him in a headlock along with a gleefully guilty Spyke. Kitty had finally found her brush and Kurt was on the chandelier hanging upside down. Rogue walked in from the other door, proceeding to sit down and listen to her headphones.
"Now," Jean said, smiling happily once they were just blinking at her. "That's better. I'd like for everyone to sit down. The Professor has some important news."
***
"So let me get this straight: I'm a *pawn* for Mystique to use against this bald guy, "Xavier", to let mutants take over the world. That is, in theory."
Lance nodded, leaning against her door casually, keeping one eye on Bill who had been staring at him ever since they'd come into the room.
Neona growled and punched her fist into the wall. "That bitch."
"Better than living on the streets."
"That and she can't *make* me do a *damn* thing!" This time she kicked her bed, making it lurch.
Lance sighed and reached into his pocket, pulled out a toothpick and began to chew.
"So, how'd she find you?"
"What?"
"I said," Lance reiterated, "how did Mystique find you?"
"Don't know."
"Hmph."
Bill jumped gracefully out the window suddenly, wobbling along a shaky branch, his tail whisking back and forth predatorily.
"Why? Why the *hell* would that - that woman want an 'army' of mutants anyway? We're goddamn powerful! If we're threatened, we can handle it. But an army? Effing crazy."
"You don't like humans, huh?"
"No. You?"
"Some are okay. Some. But for the most part, no."
She sat on her bed, reaching into her bag and pulled out a packet of tic- tacs. She spilled near five or seven into her hand, before popping them all into her mouth.
Lance peered
_[blanched]_
at the site with his nose scrunched curiously. "Mutant. You like it?"
"No."
His brow furrowed, the premature lines deepening. "Why not?"
She snapped her head in his direction, glaring at him, that painful
_[wondrously blissful]_
feeling welling up inside her. "You look normal. You can walk among them without them knowing. I *can't*. Even with a trench coat."
He smirked "Who cares?"
"I do!" she snapped, rising to her feet.
She started to walk towards him, eyes flashing a loathsome red, when she stopped suddenly, the brown trickling back in. She looked around back towards where she'd been sitting, then clutched a hand to her head. "Get out," she hissed.
"No problem," he bit back, slamming the door on his way, trying to discern just WHAT her problem was.
***
Things looked as if nothing had happened since . . . well, quite a while now.
Everybody was in their normal spot (that is to say - Wanda reading, Todd flipping through the television, Pietro gone) and Blob was back in the kitchen trying to salvage dinner somehow.
Lance calmed himself (or at least, tried to) as he - briskly, he thought numbly, remembering one of his foster mothers' favorite word - into the living room, plopping back down.
"I'm bored, yo," Todd said immediately.
"You're always bored."
"Yeah, but this time I'm really, really bored," he said, hopping over to Wanda, but he didn't say anything or move to touch her. He instead read over her shoulder.
Wanda frowned, fighting with herself on whether or not to tell him to get away from her, but decided against it. At least, until he _did_ do something.
"Where's the girl - Neona?"
"Upstairs, Todd." Lance sighed.
"Dinner!" Blob bellowed.
Toad zipped (if that's what it was) out of the room; Wanda followed with Lance right behind.
'If anything, she's just as quiet,' he thought, thinking blearily to the time when she'd come home with Toad, the male mutant pulling them all into the kitchen and explaining to them what had happened - Magneto had brainwashed her.
Neona came down the stairs, walking with deliberate steps, seemingly having a conversation with herself.
"Trouble?"
She stopped her inner monologue, head snapping up, eyes focusing.
"Looks like you've got a stick up your ass is all."
She dived then, knocking the white-haired boy down as he had just entered the house.
Lance laughed at Pietro's stunned expression, though he himself was a little surprised; Pietro hadn't even been that mean to Tabitha her first hour.
"Close the door, Pietro," he choked out between laughs, enjoying the cries and swears ringing throughout the air. He just doubted the neighbors would share his opinion.
Once he got into the kitchen, the other three were poking their heads around, trying to learn what all the ruckus was about.
"Pietro said Neona was walking like she had a stick up her ass." Lance informed (them) nonchalantly.
"Wow, really?" Fred asked, taking a bite into his food.
Gone were the casseroles - or whatever dish he had prepared - and now large sandwiches resided in their place.
He sat down in his own spot, eating happily.
He heard a few more crashes and then both Wanda and Neona came back looking smug.
"What an asshole," Neona said simply, sitting herself in what was normally Pietro's seat. She opened the sandwich and began to take off all the cheese, using it to wipe off the mayonnaise.
"That's a waste," Lance said simply, though in the way his body posture had changed, one could sense it bothered him.
Neona, quite frankly, didn't give a damn.
Instead, she arose and threw it away. Pulling out a cigarette from a small pocket in her skirt, lighting it with a match she struck on the stove. She inhaled deeply walking over to him, blowing the smoke right into his face. "I am a waste. We all are. Get. The. Hell. Over. It."
Lance pounded his hands on the table, standing up sharply. He stood next to Neona, staring her down as he was a rather good deal taller than her
_[like Kitty]_
"Don't waste your food here. We're lucky we've got anything as it is."
She smirked, "You're like an old man."
Then she turned heel and walked back up to her room.
She didn't come down for the rest of the night, either.
***
The next morning, Monday, she did come back down, looking haggard and more diminished than she had the day before.
"Hurry up, you got school."
"What?"
"Mystique enrolled you, she called last night. Now put on the trench and hurry up." Lance finished, heading out the door to the jeep, waiting for Pietro to get back with the gas.
Tabitha came down the stairs, still spritzing her hair with spray. "Hey, girl!" she exclaimed, smiling as she noticed Neona. "You disappeared last night. Anyway, c'mon, don't wanna be late the first day right?" She rolled her eyes and threw Mystique's coat at her, picking up her own on her way out.
Neona stood at the doorway, frozen in shock. School. She'd never gone to a school before.
Ever.
"Fuck," she muttered, flying up to her room quickly and grabbing grabbed two items, then headed back downstairs, swooping down to catch the coat, throwing it on as she walked out.
"Fuck me in the eye!" She said again, hopping into the jeep next to an encouraging Tabitha.
Neona dismally noticed that Wanda was not coming with them.
Lance was filling up the tank as Pietro stood next to him, both talking in a hushed, heated way.
"You'll like Bayville. You can get away with pretty much anything here," Tabitha said, taking a drink out of a water bottle.
"Unless they know you're a mutant," Todd grumbled from the klepto's other side.
"Then I guess I'm in deep shit."
"They can't do anything about it," Tabitha said, placing a hand on Neona's shoulder. Neona growled and the blonde backed off.
Blob was clambering into the very rear of the jeep as Lance hopped in, smirking at Pietro who zipped off on his own. Lance started the jeep and they were off.
*****
Needless to say, her first day wasn't exactly a hit.
She got lost more times than she could count and so many people had turned to stare as she walked past, she She had to carry all her books seeing as she couldn't put anything on her back.
Speaking of her back - Oh, how it ached! She'd never really had to worry about her wings so consistently, or keep them locked closely to her body like today. A tingling sensation had set in about second period, and by fourth had spread up the entirety of her body.
That's why, during fifth, she was out heading toward the unoccupied football field smoking a cigarette, fiddling with her lighter - the two things she'd grabbed that morning.
She always had tic-tacs on her and she'd periodically chew on them between cigs.
There was another person slouching against the stands under the shade of the seats, the mist dancing across their features.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Go ahead."
The boy was interesting to look at.
Boy.
Yeah, he was a boy she decided with a mental firm nod.
He had long hair a soft velvety blue color about to his neck, with a fringe hanging to his cheekbone covering one eye. Between the hair, she saw a piercing silver eye, his other one - the left - amber. His facial features were somewhat girly, but she thought it made him more exotic. He had a short stature from what she could tell and he was lanky. Very lanky. He was wearing a plain black hoodie and she could tell a black shirt was underneath. His black trainer shoes had the laces flayed out in every which way and his jeans had long cuffs and were wearing out at the knees.
"You come here often?"
"First day here." Was the short reply.
She glanced over at him from the corner of her eye, surprisingly at ease with his presence.
"Mine too," she said finally. "Joined a Brotherhood just the other day."
"Institute. Guy by the name of Xavier."
In the middle of what was being a very good drag indeed, she inhaled sharply, the smoke sniping at the back of her throat and she began to cough.
"I take it you've heard of it."
Neona took a deep breath and looked around and upon deciding the coast was clear took off her jacket and spread her wings with a heaving sigh of relief. "Poor bastards have been cooped up all damn day," she said flatly, peering at them, examining closely for any damage even though she knew she wouldn't be able to see it.
"You look like a ghoul," he said, but his expression was light and she gave an almost arrogant smirk.
"What do you do?"
"Mutant powers don't affect me."
"Oh, really?"
"Yup. But if you want technicalities, if you were to hit me, it'd hurt like you were only a human hitting me."
"Nice accent."
He looked at her, wondering just how to reply to that. Instead, he said nothing and they both lapsed into silence, just smoking cigarette after cigarette.
From afar, as they were both lost in their own thoughts, the bell rang and classes were changing.
Neona stood up first, grabbing her coat and whisking it, sadly, back on. "Maybe I'll see you around."
"Maybe you will. Maybe you won't."
"It'll probably be just to kick your ass. So when it does happen, don't take it personally."
"Oh I don't know if I can do that. I know you so well, it would mar me to the core if you were to betray me like that," he said lightly, only a trace of sarcasm lining his voice: obviously a master of the art.
"The name's Neona by the way."
"Dainton."
"Alright."
"Good-bye for now, then, Onna."
"Onna?"
"Japanese. It means woman."
"Alright." She started to walk back. "Goodbye Clayton!"
"Dainton!"
"Don't matter, I know who you are."
*****
Dude, and there you have it.
I have GOT to thank my Beta (teehee) Dead Caffeine Junkie for beta-ing. She KICKS TOTAL ASS! *GLOMP*
Anyway, I've got a few pages of Chapter4 written, so hopefully it shouldn't take too long to get that up. But, anyway, please review/critique (critiquing would really be nice *hint-hint*) and tell me your thoughts on the chapter. Until next time:
Love and Peace,
-Holly
THE FINAL CAST:
MAJOR characters:
1) Michael "Ghost" Graves who is owned by Emerald Knight1. Michael is on the X-Men team.
2) Keely "Numb" Woodrow who is owned by Mickey. Keely is on the X-Men team.
3) Denise Lynn "Vesuvius" Saylors who is owned by Dee Saylors. Denise is the on the Brotherhood team.
4) Dainton Gabriel "Vaccine" Hazard who is owned by Deaf Caffeine Junkie.
MINOR characters (but don't fear, they'll be in the story plenty I promise, and hell, they could get a chapter to themselves, you never know)
1) Ryan "Lynx" Archer who is owned by roguephoenix. Ryan is an X-Men.
2) Abigail "Heartstar" Lesthour who is owned by sierraheart. Abigail is an X-Men.
3) Lucca James "Shatter" Bolton who is owned by Sycommansonboy. Lucca is an X-Men.
4) Lauren "Intwine" McCann who is owned by cheeky-bear007. Lauren is also an X-Men
I apologize from the bottom of my heart if your character was not chosen. I know how that's like, and I am SOOO sorry.