author: Lucinda
Series: Something in Red. story # 5
rating: pg, pg 13
disclaimer: Nobody from Marvel belongs to me.
distribution: Luba can have it, anyone else please ask first.
She had flown herself and Scott, along with his brother Alex, to
Japan. She was looking forward to meeting all of his friends. It had
almost felt like she knew them already, from listening to the stories Scott told, looking at the photographs with him. She knew
their names, and their faces, some of their histories and hopes.
When she had stepped into the room where of his friends were gathered, they had looked stunned. She had even
felt the oddest thing, like a cool draft passing beside her, and a feeling of
purple, and of butterflies. It seemed that Scott was not the only
one who thought that she resembled this Jean person. Oddly enough, Scott
hadn't shown her any pictures of Jean, only described her briefly; red
hair, telepathic and telekinetic abilities, and pretty.
The garden that the wedding would be held in was beautiful, colorful
flowers all over gave the air a lovely fresh scent. Carefully raked gravel
paths crossed the garden, nearing the pond, leading to a small bridge.
There were small shrubs that formed elegantly twisting shapes bordering the
area that had been prepared for the wedding. The weather was perfect, and
Madelyne wondered if that was good fortune or perhaps something of a wedding
gift from Storm.
The wedding had gone well enough, although there had been a brief
altercation when someone had tried to interrupt, making some nasty
allegations about Clan Yoshida having political and monetary connections to
various criminal elements. Logan had spoken to the man, and although she
didn't know what was said, there was a brief conference with Logan, the
interrupter, and the Lady Mariko. It had ended with several unhappy looking
men taking the accuser away, and the wedding had continued. Mariko had been
a beautiful bride, and Logan had looked so happy... Maddie had been trying
to contain her tears, imagining the happy future that they might have,
imagining that she were the lovely bride, that this was the wedding of herself and Scott.
It had been a wonderful, joyful occasion, and everyone had been very
happy for Logan and Mariko. There had been a reception, with delicious
foods, and they had given the newlyweds gifts. She'd had the oddest feeing
that some of Scott's friends were watching her, as if something about her
made them uneasy. Apparently, the resemblance between herself and Jean was
positively uncanny. Despite that minor note of awkwardness, the day went well.
Alex had chosen to stay later, assuring Scott and Maddie that he would
catch a ride home with the rest of the team. They had returned home to
Anchorage, feeling fairly exhausted by the day's events. It had been a
long, long, wonderful day, and they were so exhausted by everything that
they simply fell asleep at Maddie's apartment,snuggled up together on her
couch, a warm blanket draped over them.
Eventually, they stirred. It wasn't with the rising of the sun, or
the blaring of an alarm clock, but rather from the rumbling growls of empty
stomachs. Maddie pulled herself away first, reluctantly standing up from
her place, snuggled up with Scott. She went and freshened up, a quick
shower, clean clothing. Feeling a bit better, she went to the kitchen,
starting coffee and a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The scent of the
bacon woke Scott, and they had a lovely breakfast together, laughing slightly at the time.
Things were going so wonderfully that neither Scott or Madelyne worried
about looking for the shadow of their luck. Things were happy, life was
good, why look for trouble? What they did not know was that Jason Wyndgard,
called Mastermind, had found his way to Anchorage. He had tried to corrupt
the Phoenix into becoming the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, and had
blamed the X-Men, especially Scott Summers for the failure of that plan. He
had vowed that he would take his revenge on each one of them, finding out
what was the most important thing to each of them,and destroying it. Now,
he had found Scott, and he was dating a woman that looked very similar to
the powerful Phoenix. His revenge would be so easy... all he would need to
do was push a little bit here, offer a hint of illusion there... Scott would
destroy his own relationship with this other red-haired woman. Nobody would
know of his involvement.
Wyndgaurd gave a small smile, and began his efforts. He started first
on the woman, Mad something, reading her feelings, looking for any doubts or
insecurities that he could use against her, to use against Scott. To his
delight, she was full of questions, of worries and concerns, and doubts.
He couldn't tell exactly what it was that she worried about, or what she was
doubting, but if he could intensify those feelings just a little bit... If
he could make her a bit less easy about her whole life, then she would be
more likely to become angry with Scott, to over-react to something that he
said or did. If she became upset and threw him out, or even attacked him, it
would be splendid for Wyndgaurd's plans. But only a fool would work at such
a problem as his perfect revenge from one direction. After enhancing the
woman's anxieties a bit, he turned his attention to Scott. He could feel a
worry, a burning question in the X-Man's mind, and there was a faint
impression of red connected to this concern. Smiling with wicked delight,
Wyndgaurd nudged that just a bit, intensifying the concern.
He took to lurking near one or the other of them often, and every
chance he got, he would reach out and feed the assorted doubts and concerns
that plagued the lives of the two. The woman was a pilot, and her concerns
began to show in longer preflight checks, and she began inspecting her
planes after every trip, as if searching for something. Perhaps she would
loose faith in her skills, and her job would suffer, or even be lost. Scott
was showing a few signs as well, although mostly a general state of thought
and worry. Such a pity that when everything fell apart, he wouldn't be able
to watch, but his presence might give away the game.
Scott was finding himself noticing more and more things that Maddie
did that were just like things that Jean had done. They even had similar
tastes in music. She used the same gestures when speaking, had some of the
same particular phrases that she used. She knew things about him that he
hadn't told her, like how he took his coffee, and exactly how he liked his
breakfast eggs. How could she know those things if she wasn't actually
Jean? Who could she be if not Jean, given a second chance?
Madelyne found herself worrying more as well. She didn't know what
had caused the crash that had robbed her of her memory. She didn't know if
she had relatives that mourned her disappearance and questioned the fate of
their daughter. Had she had a boyfriend before? Had the crash been her
fault? Had she somehow caused the accident that gave her vague dreams of
falling and flames? Was it her fault that she couldn't remember? Was it
really her that Scott wanted, or was it this woman Jean that he had cared
for, the one that had died? How much of his interest was for herself, and
how much was because when he looked at her, he saw Jean?
Scott kept giving her strange glances, as if he were measuring her
against something. She would find him staring at her hands as she talked
about something, and had the oddest feeling that he wasn't really listening
to her words. She felt as if he were looking through her, gazing in her
direction and seeing something else, or perhaps someone else.
"Madelyne, why don't you grow your hair out? I'm sure that you'd look
lovely with long hair." Scott's words sounded just a bit off, as if he were
not quite thinking of Madelyne when he spoke.
She looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking, as if by
will alone she could divine his thoughts. Long hair? Why would he want her
to grow her hair out long? "It used to be long. I cut it. It kept getting in the way."
"Long? Was it almost to your waist?" Scott had an odd intensity to
his words, as if the answer was vitally important to him.
The words were almost dragged from her by the sheer intensity of his
words. She could almost feel his need to know, although it made no sense to
her. "Yes. What does it matter?"
He took a faltering step towards her, his whole body tense and oddly
light, as if he were filled with hope. "Are you... you must be... are you
Jean? Brought back for a second chance?"
With a harsh gasp of breath, Madelyne felt the tears well up in her
eyes. How could he... how could she have believed that he cared for her?
For who she really was, instead of the image of the woman that had died? She
slapped him across his cheek as hard as she could. "How dare you, Scott
Summers. How dare you come here, wooing me, and all the time you just want
her, the dead woman that I resemble? How dare you..."
She spun on her foot, and ran out of the house, the small fragment of
her mind still working causing her to grab her coat as she left, shrugging
it on against the cold wind. She could feel hot, angry tears burning across
her cheeks, tears of pain and rage and humiliation. She had trusted Scott,
loved him with all that she was. And when he looked at her, all he saw was
a dead woman who wore her face.
Jason Wyndgaurd saw the redhead run out into the cold, felt her pain
and rage burning like a beacon. Suddenly, a dark and wonderful plan
blossomed in his mind. It would be perfect. He could hurt them all... and
the one that they would blame would be this woman. He focused his power,
and reached out for her mind, ensnaring her mind to his illusions.
end Promises for Tomorrow.
Series: Something in Red. story # 5
rating: pg, pg 13
disclaimer: Nobody from Marvel belongs to me.
distribution: Luba can have it, anyone else please ask first.
She had flown herself and Scott, along with his brother Alex, to
Japan. She was looking forward to meeting all of his friends. It had
almost felt like she knew them already, from listening to the stories Scott told, looking at the photographs with him. She knew
their names, and their faces, some of their histories and hopes.
When she had stepped into the room where of his friends were gathered, they had looked stunned. She had even
felt the oddest thing, like a cool draft passing beside her, and a feeling of
purple, and of butterflies. It seemed that Scott was not the only
one who thought that she resembled this Jean person. Oddly enough, Scott
hadn't shown her any pictures of Jean, only described her briefly; red
hair, telepathic and telekinetic abilities, and pretty.
The garden that the wedding would be held in was beautiful, colorful
flowers all over gave the air a lovely fresh scent. Carefully raked gravel
paths crossed the garden, nearing the pond, leading to a small bridge.
There were small shrubs that formed elegantly twisting shapes bordering the
area that had been prepared for the wedding. The weather was perfect, and
Madelyne wondered if that was good fortune or perhaps something of a wedding
gift from Storm.
The wedding had gone well enough, although there had been a brief
altercation when someone had tried to interrupt, making some nasty
allegations about Clan Yoshida having political and monetary connections to
various criminal elements. Logan had spoken to the man, and although she
didn't know what was said, there was a brief conference with Logan, the
interrupter, and the Lady Mariko. It had ended with several unhappy looking
men taking the accuser away, and the wedding had continued. Mariko had been
a beautiful bride, and Logan had looked so happy... Maddie had been trying
to contain her tears, imagining the happy future that they might have,
imagining that she were the lovely bride, that this was the wedding of herself and Scott.
It had been a wonderful, joyful occasion, and everyone had been very
happy for Logan and Mariko. There had been a reception, with delicious
foods, and they had given the newlyweds gifts. She'd had the oddest feeing
that some of Scott's friends were watching her, as if something about her
made them uneasy. Apparently, the resemblance between herself and Jean was
positively uncanny. Despite that minor note of awkwardness, the day went well.
Alex had chosen to stay later, assuring Scott and Maddie that he would
catch a ride home with the rest of the team. They had returned home to
Anchorage, feeling fairly exhausted by the day's events. It had been a
long, long, wonderful day, and they were so exhausted by everything that
they simply fell asleep at Maddie's apartment,snuggled up together on her
couch, a warm blanket draped over them.
Eventually, they stirred. It wasn't with the rising of the sun, or
the blaring of an alarm clock, but rather from the rumbling growls of empty
stomachs. Maddie pulled herself away first, reluctantly standing up from
her place, snuggled up with Scott. She went and freshened up, a quick
shower, clean clothing. Feeling a bit better, she went to the kitchen,
starting coffee and a breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The scent of the
bacon woke Scott, and they had a lovely breakfast together, laughing slightly at the time.
Things were going so wonderfully that neither Scott or Madelyne worried
about looking for the shadow of their luck. Things were happy, life was
good, why look for trouble? What they did not know was that Jason Wyndgard,
called Mastermind, had found his way to Anchorage. He had tried to corrupt
the Phoenix into becoming the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, and had
blamed the X-Men, especially Scott Summers for the failure of that plan. He
had vowed that he would take his revenge on each one of them, finding out
what was the most important thing to each of them,and destroying it. Now,
he had found Scott, and he was dating a woman that looked very similar to
the powerful Phoenix. His revenge would be so easy... all he would need to
do was push a little bit here, offer a hint of illusion there... Scott would
destroy his own relationship with this other red-haired woman. Nobody would
know of his involvement.
Wyndgaurd gave a small smile, and began his efforts. He started first
on the woman, Mad something, reading her feelings, looking for any doubts or
insecurities that he could use against her, to use against Scott. To his
delight, she was full of questions, of worries and concerns, and doubts.
He couldn't tell exactly what it was that she worried about, or what she was
doubting, but if he could intensify those feelings just a little bit... If
he could make her a bit less easy about her whole life, then she would be
more likely to become angry with Scott, to over-react to something that he
said or did. If she became upset and threw him out, or even attacked him, it
would be splendid for Wyndgaurd's plans. But only a fool would work at such
a problem as his perfect revenge from one direction. After enhancing the
woman's anxieties a bit, he turned his attention to Scott. He could feel a
worry, a burning question in the X-Man's mind, and there was a faint
impression of red connected to this concern. Smiling with wicked delight,
Wyndgaurd nudged that just a bit, intensifying the concern.
He took to lurking near one or the other of them often, and every
chance he got, he would reach out and feed the assorted doubts and concerns
that plagued the lives of the two. The woman was a pilot, and her concerns
began to show in longer preflight checks, and she began inspecting her
planes after every trip, as if searching for something. Perhaps she would
loose faith in her skills, and her job would suffer, or even be lost. Scott
was showing a few signs as well, although mostly a general state of thought
and worry. Such a pity that when everything fell apart, he wouldn't be able
to watch, but his presence might give away the game.
Scott was finding himself noticing more and more things that Maddie
did that were just like things that Jean had done. They even had similar
tastes in music. She used the same gestures when speaking, had some of the
same particular phrases that she used. She knew things about him that he
hadn't told her, like how he took his coffee, and exactly how he liked his
breakfast eggs. How could she know those things if she wasn't actually
Jean? Who could she be if not Jean, given a second chance?
Madelyne found herself worrying more as well. She didn't know what
had caused the crash that had robbed her of her memory. She didn't know if
she had relatives that mourned her disappearance and questioned the fate of
their daughter. Had she had a boyfriend before? Had the crash been her
fault? Had she somehow caused the accident that gave her vague dreams of
falling and flames? Was it her fault that she couldn't remember? Was it
really her that Scott wanted, or was it this woman Jean that he had cared
for, the one that had died? How much of his interest was for herself, and
how much was because when he looked at her, he saw Jean?
Scott kept giving her strange glances, as if he were measuring her
against something. She would find him staring at her hands as she talked
about something, and had the oddest feeling that he wasn't really listening
to her words. She felt as if he were looking through her, gazing in her
direction and seeing something else, or perhaps someone else.
"Madelyne, why don't you grow your hair out? I'm sure that you'd look
lovely with long hair." Scott's words sounded just a bit off, as if he were
not quite thinking of Madelyne when he spoke.
She looked at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking, as if by
will alone she could divine his thoughts. Long hair? Why would he want her
to grow her hair out long? "It used to be long. I cut it. It kept getting in the way."
"Long? Was it almost to your waist?" Scott had an odd intensity to
his words, as if the answer was vitally important to him.
The words were almost dragged from her by the sheer intensity of his
words. She could almost feel his need to know, although it made no sense to
her. "Yes. What does it matter?"
He took a faltering step towards her, his whole body tense and oddly
light, as if he were filled with hope. "Are you... you must be... are you
Jean? Brought back for a second chance?"
With a harsh gasp of breath, Madelyne felt the tears well up in her
eyes. How could he... how could she have believed that he cared for her?
For who she really was, instead of the image of the woman that had died? She
slapped him across his cheek as hard as she could. "How dare you, Scott
Summers. How dare you come here, wooing me, and all the time you just want
her, the dead woman that I resemble? How dare you..."
She spun on her foot, and ran out of the house, the small fragment of
her mind still working causing her to grab her coat as she left, shrugging
it on against the cold wind. She could feel hot, angry tears burning across
her cheeks, tears of pain and rage and humiliation. She had trusted Scott,
loved him with all that she was. And when he looked at her, all he saw was
a dead woman who wore her face.
Jason Wyndgaurd saw the redhead run out into the cold, felt her pain
and rage burning like a beacon. Suddenly, a dark and wonderful plan
blossomed in his mind. It would be perfect. He could hurt them all... and
the one that they would blame would be this woman. He focused his power,
and reached out for her mind, ensnaring her mind to his illusions.
end Promises for Tomorrow.