Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men, Marvel does. I don't own Hello Kitty, I don't know who does. I also don't own many other things, like green polka-dot floor boards, my own salty cheese cracker company, and the moon. I also don't own the Newbay Train Station, in fact I don't know whether it exists or not. So if it does, please don't sue me!
Chapter 3
The Encounter
Clarice woke up with a quick gasp. Tears were streaming down both her cheeks.
"The Newbay Train Station" she said. /Is that where my future lies? Is that where I'm supposed to find a guide to my destiny?/
Clarice decided to get on her way right away. She quickly got to her knees, folded her moth-eaten once red blanket as neatly as possible and began searching around in her bag.
From the bag, Clarice retrieved several objects, most of which she picked up along her way during the past four months. Among them were an old compass, a city map with red pen marks all over it (how she kept track of where she was, since she had been underground the whole time), and an old broken Hello Kitty watch which was missing a second dial and had to be wound up every 30 hours or so.
Clarice quickly glanced at her watch. 3:25 AM. "Well, best get going now, before the sun rises," she said to herself.
The last thing she wanted to do was to go out into public places during daytime. The brown coloring in her hair faded out, leaving it bright pink, the purple in her skin became more solid, and to top it off, after four months of not bathing and living in the sewage, she looked more like a beast than a human.
/Luckily, this place isn't far from here,/ she thought, /otherwise, I wouldn't have gotten there until, like, 4:30./
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At the Train Station, around 4 AM
"Why in the friggin hell did we have to get up so friggin early? The girl ain't here yet, she ain't gonna be here until five!", Toad complained to his team-mate.
Toad and Sabertooth were sitting on the roof of the main gate building of the train station, waiting for the arrival of Clarice.
"Baldy arranged for her to be here at five. That's when the X-freaks are comin' to pick 'er up. So why the hell we out here an hour early?"
Creed just growled in response to his team-mate's nagging.
"Mystique has arranged everything. The frail was up an hour earlier, and she will be here in no time."
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X-Mansion, 3:54 AM
/Summers! Wake up!/, Xavier's voice drummed in Cyclops' head.
"Huh? What? I'm awake!", Cyclops said out loud in a sleepy voice, waking his sleeping wife beside him.
/Get into my office right now. Bring Jean with you, this is an emergency!/
/We'll be right over, Professor,/ Scott replied, this time mentally.
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In Xavier's office, 4:00 AM
There is a knock on the door.
"Come in, Scott, good morning Jean, close the door behind you."
"You said this was an emergency, Prof—"
"Yes, indeed, it is. I have picked up something. You and Jean must go to the train station right now, the girl is in danger."
"Professor, how?—" Jean asked impatiently.
"No time for explaining, Sabertooth and Toad are there, they somehow know about my plan and are waiting to collect her there right now. Take the Blackbird, you must get there before she does!"
"Yes, Professor," Jean and Scott said in unison as they scurried out of the room, shutting the door behind them.
Xavier was left alone in his office.
"Why are you doing this, Eric, what do you want with the poor girl?…" he thought out loud.
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The Train Station, 4:09 AM
Clarice was standing in front of the main gate of the Newbay Train Station, a backpack on her shoulder, her left hand supporting it, the map in her right hand.
"Well, this is it," she said enthusiastically to herself. "Hope it was worth it," she followed up, only this time a bit more quieter.
/So, what am I supposed to do now?/ she thought, /Stay here and wait for a sign? Or am I supposed to buy a train ticket to hell and be on my merry way already?/
Clarice chuckled at the sarcasm in her thoughts.
~"Let's go already! What in the friggin hell are we waiting for? C'mon! She's right there!"~ Toad began to fuss
~"……Wait. I smell trouble. I suspect that they should be near by."~
~"Well then even better! Let's get 'er before they do."~
There was no reply.
~"Look, you go do the talking, and I'll take care of the X-Freaks when they come, ok? ok!"~
With that, the Toad hopped off on his merry way before Sabertooth could respond in any way.
Sabertooth growled. He hated being ordered around by amphibians. He eyed the young girl once more before climbing down and making his approach.
Clarice searched in her bag for something to eat. She hadn't eaten in what seemed to be days, but was actually less than 24 hours. She heard no sound of Creed's approach, but when she looked up, she saw a tall large human figure in front of her. Because the street lights were behind his back, all she saw was his silhouette, and couldn't make out his face clearly.
"Hello?…" Clarice weekly muttered to the figure in front of her.
Creed didn't answer. For a moment, he took another look at her. The girl wasn't tall, about 5'6'' or so, her scrawny body covered in rags. Her cheeks were caved in from what seemed to be years of travelling and malnutrition. Her skin, a beautiful shade of violet, only emphasised the lovely bright pink in her hair. She was almost… beautiful, and Creed was almost sorry for the girl in front of him, who had such despair in her lovely eyes.
"Hello… Clarice," he finally answered.
Clarice took an unsure step forward. "You… know who I—"
"You will come with us right now," was Creed's only response.
"But who—"
"You searched for the Brotherhood? You found it," Creed said impatiently, "Now come with me."
He turned around and started walking towards a far entrance of the gate, assuming her to follow. As they were walking, he heard a quiet sob coming from her direction. He turned around and saw that tears were streaming from her lovely eyes down both violet cheeks. Again, he felt almost sorry for her and he almost wished that there was something he could do to make her feel better.
Suddenly, Creed stopped. He looked around and let out a low quiet growl.
"Wait here," he commanded and started walking in the opposite direction, towards the main gate building.
Clarice did as she was told and watched Creed disappear into the shadows behind the corner of the building. Several moments later she heard a powerful roar and a loud noise coming from the building. Before she could respond, she was swept up into the air and set on top of the gate.
"Hello, girlie-girl! Waiting for someone? Sorry, but you're comin' with us today."
With that, the green man knocked her unconscious and carried her off on his shoulder towards the nearby woods, where a helicopter was waiting. He placed her carefully into the helicopter and hopped off to help Sabertooth take care of the X-Freaks.
Several minutes later, Sabertooth and Toad came back, Claire was still lying unconscious in the passenger cabin. They got in, took their seats, and the helicopter took off, soon to be near Magneto's Lair.
Back at the Train Station
Jean was struggling to retrieve her husband from the blob of Toad's signature slime, which was keeping him attached to the wall. After struggling for a while, she was finally able to remove the slime from his eyes, so that he could use his powers to free himself from the rest of the slime.
After finally getting themselves out, the two team-mates headed for the Blackbird, and Jean sent a telepathic message to Xavier.
/Professor, we've lost her… /