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Chapter Two: The Assignment
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It had been about a week since Clarice had arrived at her new home, the nameless base belonging to Magneto and his Acolytes. It had taken a while for her to adjust to the concept of not having to hide her face, with the strange dark purple markings over her glowing green eyes, and her light purple skin, dark pink hair, and elegantly pointed ears. If people had really looked at her, not just as a mutant, they would have noticed that she was actually quite beautiful, because of her differences, not in spite of them. She stood in front of the mirror in her room now, tying a few small braids in her hair, which fell to the middle of her back. The accommodations were rather spartan, with a cot, a bare metal floor, a mirror, and a closet in each room, however, for someone who was used to sleeping on the ground in the forest, it was perfect. What was more, Magneto had been trying to encourage her to use her powers, telling her that she needed to tap her full potential. She was never sure just what he meant by that, but she was glad that for once in her life she was actually being accepted for what she was. As she finished the second braid she had been tying, a knock came on the door.
"Come in," she said softly, and the door slid open, revealing the always gruff Sabretooth.
"Time for chow, runt," he growled.
"Wait," she said, standing from her seat in front of the mirror, showing him the clothes Magneto had presented to her: a dark green dress, form fitting at the top, with a wide strip of cloth running down to her ankles on either side of her lower body, leaving her pale purple legs uncovered. He had called it her new "uniform," although she didn't quite understand what he meant by that. "What do you think, Mister Creed?" she asked, her eyes sparkling a bit, placing her slender fingers on the red belt around her waist. The large, blonde-haired man grunted.
"Great, just great, come on before it gets cold..." he muttered as he headed down the hall. Clarice followed behind him, looking not unlike a puppy following its master. She still had a hard time believing that anyone would ever do anything like Mister Creed had done, and she was truly grateful, although Sabretooth had made it clear that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with her gratitude. They entered the dining hall, which was all at once spartan and regal. All the surfaces were perfectly polished metal, so that wherever Clarice looked she could see her reflection. She slid quietly into a chair at one end of the table, near Sabretooth and Pyro, and at the far end of the enormous banquet table, sitting at the head, like a king upon his steel throne, was Magneto. Everyone exchanged brief pleasantries and began eating, some more politely than others at the table. By the end, everyone's plates were cleared, then moved away by Magneto's telekinetic control over magnetic fields. Seeing objects floating about in thin air as though suspended by wires was not something Clarice had entirely grown accustomed to yet.
"A matter has been brought to my attention," Magneto spoke, his voice echoing off of the metal walls, giving it a very unearthly feel once it finally reached the ears of the collected Acolytes. Mastermind, Gambit, Colossus, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Clarice all turned their heads, giving the man their complete attention, "a matter which I feel must be dealt with in an... extreme... manner." Clarice noticed that when Magneto said the word "extreme," Sabretooth bared his teeth with a feral grin, a low growl coming from the back of his throat. It was the first time since she had arrived here that Mister Creed had truly frightened her.
"Need us to whack someone, boss?" Sabretooth asked, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
"Nothing quite so extreme, Sabretooth... your aggression will be needed in this mission, however, not to that extent. Next week, there is to be a Senate hearing to discuss the possibility of forcing mutants to register themselves with the government... so that the powers that be may keep close tabs on all of us." Magneto leaned forward in his chair, his gray eyes shining in the light of the room, "we will demonstrate to them that mutants will not be held back by any such foolish laws. Laws applying to humanity do not apply to us. We are the future, gods in comparison to the foolish human vermin. Are there any questions?" All at the table were silent. Clarice shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This did not sound right to her, not in the least, but who was she to question the people who had saved her from certain death. She saw Magneto rise from his chair and begin walking along the table towards her. She felt her blood grow chill, her face turning to an even lighter shade of pale purple. "Are you uncomfortable, my dear child?" Magneto asked as he came to her chair, resting a strong, gauntleted hand on her shoulder. Clarice wasn't entirely sure whether it felt like he was trying to reassure her or was threatening to snap her collarbone.
"I-I am j-j-just afraid that I... I won't be much help," she stammered, lying, "the first time I used my powers was... was quite a disaster." It was nothing that she liked to talk about, but the first time that she ever used her powers, she had awakened hours later, laying in a puddle of blood. After that horrifying, traumatic experience, she had vowed to never use her powers against another living being.
"The Acolytes and I will train you," Magneto said, "I know the nature of your powers... your amazing teleportation skills. I will help you tap their full potential, and from now on, you shall be known as Blink." She shivered again, involuntarily, disgusted with the idea of being forced to use her powers again, but if that's what she had to do to keep her new home, that was what she would do.
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To Be Continued
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Chapter Two: The Assignment
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It had been about a week since Clarice had arrived at her new home, the nameless base belonging to Magneto and his Acolytes. It had taken a while for her to adjust to the concept of not having to hide her face, with the strange dark purple markings over her glowing green eyes, and her light purple skin, dark pink hair, and elegantly pointed ears. If people had really looked at her, not just as a mutant, they would have noticed that she was actually quite beautiful, because of her differences, not in spite of them. She stood in front of the mirror in her room now, tying a few small braids in her hair, which fell to the middle of her back. The accommodations were rather spartan, with a cot, a bare metal floor, a mirror, and a closet in each room, however, for someone who was used to sleeping on the ground in the forest, it was perfect. What was more, Magneto had been trying to encourage her to use her powers, telling her that she needed to tap her full potential. She was never sure just what he meant by that, but she was glad that for once in her life she was actually being accepted for what she was. As she finished the second braid she had been tying, a knock came on the door.
"Come in," she said softly, and the door slid open, revealing the always gruff Sabretooth.
"Time for chow, runt," he growled.
"Wait," she said, standing from her seat in front of the mirror, showing him the clothes Magneto had presented to her: a dark green dress, form fitting at the top, with a wide strip of cloth running down to her ankles on either side of her lower body, leaving her pale purple legs uncovered. He had called it her new "uniform," although she didn't quite understand what he meant by that. "What do you think, Mister Creed?" she asked, her eyes sparkling a bit, placing her slender fingers on the red belt around her waist. The large, blonde-haired man grunted.
"Great, just great, come on before it gets cold..." he muttered as he headed down the hall. Clarice followed behind him, looking not unlike a puppy following its master. She still had a hard time believing that anyone would ever do anything like Mister Creed had done, and she was truly grateful, although Sabretooth had made it clear that he wanted nothing whatsoever to do with her gratitude. They entered the dining hall, which was all at once spartan and regal. All the surfaces were perfectly polished metal, so that wherever Clarice looked she could see her reflection. She slid quietly into a chair at one end of the table, near Sabretooth and Pyro, and at the far end of the enormous banquet table, sitting at the head, like a king upon his steel throne, was Magneto. Everyone exchanged brief pleasantries and began eating, some more politely than others at the table. By the end, everyone's plates were cleared, then moved away by Magneto's telekinetic control over magnetic fields. Seeing objects floating about in thin air as though suspended by wires was not something Clarice had entirely grown accustomed to yet.
"A matter has been brought to my attention," Magneto spoke, his voice echoing off of the metal walls, giving it a very unearthly feel once it finally reached the ears of the collected Acolytes. Mastermind, Gambit, Colossus, Pyro, Sabretooth, and Clarice all turned their heads, giving the man their complete attention, "a matter which I feel must be dealt with in an... extreme... manner." Clarice noticed that when Magneto said the word "extreme," Sabretooth bared his teeth with a feral grin, a low growl coming from the back of his throat. It was the first time since she had arrived here that Mister Creed had truly frightened her.
"Need us to whack someone, boss?" Sabretooth asked, a murderous gleam in his eyes.
"Nothing quite so extreme, Sabretooth... your aggression will be needed in this mission, however, not to that extent. Next week, there is to be a Senate hearing to discuss the possibility of forcing mutants to register themselves with the government... so that the powers that be may keep close tabs on all of us." Magneto leaned forward in his chair, his gray eyes shining in the light of the room, "we will demonstrate to them that mutants will not be held back by any such foolish laws. Laws applying to humanity do not apply to us. We are the future, gods in comparison to the foolish human vermin. Are there any questions?" All at the table were silent. Clarice shifted uncomfortably in her seat. This did not sound right to her, not in the least, but who was she to question the people who had saved her from certain death. She saw Magneto rise from his chair and begin walking along the table towards her. She felt her blood grow chill, her face turning to an even lighter shade of pale purple. "Are you uncomfortable, my dear child?" Magneto asked as he came to her chair, resting a strong, gauntleted hand on her shoulder. Clarice wasn't entirely sure whether it felt like he was trying to reassure her or was threatening to snap her collarbone.
"I-I am j-j-just afraid that I... I won't be much help," she stammered, lying, "the first time I used my powers was... was quite a disaster." It was nothing that she liked to talk about, but the first time that she ever used her powers, she had awakened hours later, laying in a puddle of blood. After that horrifying, traumatic experience, she had vowed to never use her powers against another living being.
"The Acolytes and I will train you," Magneto said, "I know the nature of your powers... your amazing teleportation skills. I will help you tap their full potential, and from now on, you shall be known as Blink." She shivered again, involuntarily, disgusted with the idea of being forced to use her powers again, but if that's what she had to do to keep her new home, that was what she would do.
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To Be Continued
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