Disclamer: The X-Men do not belong to us, they belong to Marvel Comics. We do however own Paige McGrath, Kianna Lee, Brian Hudson, Shane Diego and Roxy Jones. If you have any questions, please contact either of us at ericpaladin@hotmail.com or nekowingzero@yahoo.com.
The Masked Truth
By David Knight and Wingzero
Part 2
Surprise Encounter
The first thing Brian Hudson realized as he woke up was that this was not a bad dream. No. It was more like a nightmare. He was still inside the costume shop that his buddy Shane had rushed into, just had to con him into putting on an X-Man costume, not realizing what was going to happen.
Now they, along with two girls, were stuck with the bodies and powers of the X-Man or X-Woman they appeared to be.
In Brian's case, everything he was seeing was now just plain red. _I wonder if this is how Cyclops feels. Not being able to see any color other than red. It's almost as if you're color blind. I really want to get back to normal. I can only imagine what my folks are thinking now._
He walked out into the main part of the store to see the girl who was Storm already up, doing stretches. "Good morning... Kianna was it?"
"Yes, it is," Kianna responded. She was getting ready to practice controlling her powers. "Brian, isn't it?"
"Yeah, Shane's still sleeping in the back," Brian shrugged. "Paige still asleep?"
"She's still asleep," Kianna replied as she finished stretching. "How are you holding up?"
"Well, other than the fact I got roped into something I didn't want to do, just dandy," Brian said sarcastically as he took a seat. "...I don't know. I feel kind of color-blinded and if I take off this visor I'll be shooting off optic blasts. I liked Cyclops a lot because of his personality. Not because of his powers."
"Look on the bright side," Kianna said, trying to cheer him up, "You'll be able to help people, once you gain control of your powers, though life will never be the same." She sighed and continued. "I know you want to return to your normal life, but for now, we all have to deal with it and make the best of the situation."
"I agree with trying to control these strange powers," Brian said to her, "However I don't feel like playing superhero in the real world. It's just... just not something I want to even think about right now."
"I understand," Kianna said, nodding her head. She concentrated on her powers and started to levitate off the ground. "It's going to be hard controlling some of my other powers though."
"You mean creating snow storms, hurricanes and just simply flying?"
"I can manipulate all kinds of weather," Kianna corrected him. "It's not limited to snow storms and hurricanes. As for the flying, I would think it's the easiest to learn out of my powers."
"I see," Brian replied. He stared down at himself, looking at his new body, the body of Cyclops, aka Scott Summers. Wasn't built like Wolverine but it was definitely more defined and built than his real body. It felt somewhat awkward for him to have this body. His martial art skills had made him lean and flexible. With this outfit though, well, the tightness of it did cut back on some of that flexibility. _Plus I think I could only just imagine what my parents would think if they actually saw me wearing this spandex suit. Heart attack city._
Kianna hovered to where they kept the left over food inside an old fridge. She had used her powers to give it enough electricity to last for the night. "What would you like? We have a turkey sub, a seafood sub, a vegetarian sub, or a burger?"
"I can wait until the mall opens..." Brian started to say but soon realized something, "Actually I don't think I can since I can't go out looking like this and my old clothes won't fit on this body. The veg sub, please."
"Tell me about it," Kianna agreed with him. She handed him the six inch sub, since she ate the other half yesterday. "Paige and I had to buy new clothes."
"Think you're going to need to get us new clothes then as well," Brian said as he started to eat the sub, "Especially if we're going to be able to walk out of this store at all."
"One problem, I had to use up my spending money to buy my clothes," Kianna said. "I have some in my checking account, but I'm trying not to use it too much."
"I have about two hundred dollars or so in my wallet. Use it, but just for clothes for me. Shane will have to pay for his own," Brian replied.
"Sure thing, what size do you wear?" Kianna asked when she landed on the ground. She picked up half the turkey sub and unwrapped it.
"Normally a 36 waist 32 length for pants and large shirts. For this body I would say either a 38 or 40 just for space and shirts you could do an XL."
Kianna nodded her head. "We'll check and see if anything is on sale. I know these were on sale when we bought them. You're not expecting us to purchase your underwear?"
"Nope, surprisingly that was the only thing I have on under this body suit that actually does fit." Brian said.
Both of them turned to see Paige yawning as she was coming out of the office, her hair frizzled, "Okay... we also got to figure out about what to do about taking showers. After the day I had yesterday, I could just kill for a hot tub treatment."
"Yeah, and what will we do about soap and shampoo?" Brian asked.
"Buy it, of course, silly," Paige chirped.
"Yeah, but the problem is money," Paige sighed, "Sooner or later we'll run out of our own supply and need more."
"Let's just hope we can figure out
how to turn back to normal soon." Brian said.
"I agree with that," Kianna backed them up. "Unless you can find someone who is
willing to hire X-Men look-alikes."
"Only if they decide to go out and make another movie about them." Paige shook her head. "What time is it anyway?"
"Ten AM."
"Mall should be opening soon," Paige mused.
"I should be finished eating my breakfast and then we'll head out to get your new stuff," Kianna announced.
* * *
Back in the storage area, Shane was waking up. His eyes blinked open as he remembered the previous day. He couldn't believe that he had the body and the powers of his favorite X-Man.
It was then that Paige walked into the room. "Slept well on the floor Shane?"
"Oh sure, the floor was so comfortable," Shane said sarcastically. "I can't wait to sleep in my own bed."
"That's only going to happen when one of us figures out how to change back to our real bodies," Paige said to him, "And don't be sarcastic or snappy with me. Right now we only have each other and we are going to need each other if we're going to survive."
"Sorry, I'm not a morning person," Shane apologized as he let out a loud yawn. "Maybe we can get some coffee. I need the caffeine after sleeping on the rock hard floor."
"Well, if you want coffee, you're going to have to give me cash to buy you clothes."
"Huh?" Shane asked.
"Unless you actually want to go walking around in your X-Man uniform, I would suggest you give me what money you can and tell me your size." Paige said.
"Oh okay," Shane said, pulling out his wallet. "After some discussion he gave her money and his sizes."
"Okay. Come on and I'll show you where some food is." Paige led Shane out into the store.
* * *
It was another hour before the mall opened up, yet there had been someone hiding out in another area all last night, keeping herself from being seen by anyone.
Seventeen-year-old Roxy Jones had a pretty good thing here at the mall, as far as finding a place to sleep. First thing you had to know how to do when being a runaway, don't stay in the same place two days in a row. Have at least three other spots ready and alternate between them, making it look random when it really wasn't. This way no one knew you were someone not normal. Someone who didn't have a home.
_No f'ing way I am going back to that hellhole. I'd rather put a bullet in my brain first,_ the young girl swore as she ran a hand through her messy pink locks. She took a shower as often as she could, using public facilities like the high school gym showers. Since she was a teenager, it wouldn't be unnatural for her to be seen in a school.
As she was walking into the more abandoned part of the mall, around a year ago she had thought she had found a place that could have been a real safe haven for her. She would have thought that demolition companies would have tore it down or someone would have bought it. No one did though, and it remained abandoned. She spent a rather nice Christmas safe and sound in that store. One of the best nights she had slept ever in her life.
She never expected to find people in there.
When she started to see the door opening, Roxy hid in the doorway of another shop but kept looking out to see who was coming out. What she saw were the two girls from last night. The white haired African American and the sexy red head. Only difference now was that they were wearing normal clothes instead of X-men outfits.
After they had walked away far enough, she took a peek through the costume shop window and saw Gambit stuffing his face with a burger while Cyclops was just doing pushups.
_Either they are psychotic, just plain screwy or they now own the place,_ Roxy scowled. _... or they are like me._
Either way, she knew that her place had been compromised. She'd leave for now, but keep a look out on them. As soon as all four of these weirdoes were out of the store, she'd go back in and pick up what she left behind a few nights ago.
She wouldn't leave her treasure behind.
No way in hell.
* * *
"Well you've pretty much managed to eat just about everything else they had in the fridge," Brian rolled his eyes at his friend. "Are you full now?"
"Hey, I only had one hamburger and half a sandwich," Shane huffed.
Before he could say anything more, the door to the shop opened up and both girls returned. Paige noticed Brian's face. Now he was not wearing the visor but instead the shades that Cyclops would wear when going out in his civilian clothes.
"Found it in back near the rest of these costumes. Maybe it just fell out earlier or something." Brian shrugged. He took the bag that Paige gave to him and went over into the office to go change out of his spandex suit. After a few minutes, he was dressed in jeans with a blue shirt. He wasn't wearing anything as far as shoes, but went into the back to retrieve his old sneakers, which still fit him.
_Damn._ Paige grinned. _In that body, he looks yummy in just about anything._
Once Shane had finished cleaning up the mess he had made eating, he took the bag that Kianna was holding out to him. It was his turn to change into street clothes. As he was changing, he noticed the differences between his body and Gambit's.
"What's going through that mind of yours?" Kianna asked playfully.
"Nothing. Just thinking how much I'd like to have those..." Paige shook her head. "Oh brother! Where did that come from?"
"I think someone has spent too much time fantasizing over a certain X-Man," Kianna smirked.
"Who said I was thinking about Cyclops?" Paige smirked back to her friend.
"I have my ways," Kianna said smugly as she turned around to sort through the rest of the costumes. She figured she might as well be doing something useful. Once her laptop was booted up, she began looking through her files.
"What are you doing?" Brian asked as he was adjusting his sunglasses.
"I'm doing an inventory of the store," Kianna replied. She was typing away on her laptop and looking around the room.
"Well, I think we need to do something else besides that," Brian said. "Like trying to find a way to test these powers without causing any real damage or being seen by anyone."
"As much as I wish there was such a place, there isn't in this modern day and age." Paige shook her head.
"Sure there is," was Brian's reply which made Paige stare at him. "That's what abandoned lots and junkyards are for."
"That would be especially good considering Storm's ability to manipulate the weather," Kianna mused out loud.
"No kidding," Shane agreed with the rest of them. He walked out to hear the last part of the conversation. "Gambit's powers aren't exactly a walk in the park either."
"So I think we got it all planned out now huh? Well where do we go from here?" Paige asked Brian.
"The junkyard on the west end of town. Shouldn't take more than a ten minute drive from here going by car," Brian said.
"I say we should take our uniforms," Kianna spoke up. "No sense in getting our new clothes dirty."
"Yeah but definitely wear our clothes to go walking out around in public," Paige added.
"And let's not to forget something to eat if we're going to be away for a long time," Shane mentioned.
Kianna shook her head. "Only you could think of food now."
"What?" Shane said, trying to sound innocent.
"Come on. Let's get going. This mall does close around nine today, meaning that if we have to get back here by then if we haven't figured out how to get back to normal." Paige said.
Though every one of them hoped that they did.
* * *
It was around noon when Roxy saw them walk out of the store, all four of them dressed in normal civilian clothing. She was sitting at a table, reading a newspaper. Well, pretending to read one. She needed to be close but look inconspicuous. It had worked in this instance.
As soon as they were far enough away, she picked the lock and the door opened. She went straight into the back room, knowing exactly what she was looking for. She had worn it so many times in the last year. She couldn't stop thinking how much better she felt wearing it. That her life would be so much better if she slipped into that skin for the rest of her life.
_Maybe I ought to. Maybe I should just show all of those ignorant pricks my real power. Make them feel all of the pain they have heaped on me,_ Roxy thought to herself, but put that away for now. She didn't want those negative thoughts to ruin this. For her, this was a sacred experience every time she put it... put her on.
On a female wooden dummy that she had just pulled out was a female body suit. One that wore a form fitting blue and yellow outfit that exposed her back. Down the middle of her suit, she had a strip of yellow that traveled all the way down to the beginning of her thighs. On either side of the yellow strip was blue. Over the head was a beautiful female mask, her blue headgear covering her cheeks, but allowing people to see her long untamed green hair and radiant facial features.
Roxy slipped the body suit on after stripping down to her undergarments. She held the mask of the woman in her hands, looking at it and herself in the mirror before she put it on over her own head.
Before her eyes, she felt and saw the change happen to her as it had happened so many times before. Latex skin became real flesh. Her muscles expanded to what the costume had implied. Comic book size bust became her bust. Most of all, her face was now her face.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Polaris has checked back in." the changed teenager said with a devilish grin on her face. _And this time, I'm not sure I'll ever want to leave._
* * *
In the junkyard, the four teens had been practicing using their powers. Kianna had been able to get the hang of flying as if it was second nature to her. Paige was improving with her telekinetic and telepathic abilities. She could move larger objects such as chairs, desks, and furniture without sweating too much. Brian worked on controlling his laser eyes and his aim. At first, he missed his targets but now he was hitting them most of the time. Shane had taken to charging up small objects, since he wasn't ready to do anything large.
"I think this is turning out well," Kianna said flying around one of the car stacks in the junkyard.
Paige was trying to stack things on top of one another now, starting with a desk followed by blocks and then chairs. "I have to say, it is getting easier to move things with my mind."
Brian was focusing on using his aim and intensity of his optic blasts and was using the special visor for that of course. His hit or miss ratio was definitely more than half now. He remembered how hard it was when trying to hit targets when just starting out but now he was starting to get the hang of it.
Kianna was about to say something when suddenly she heard something. //Where am I?// the voice thought. //What happened? Where are the others?//
"Did you say anything?" Kianna asked the others.
"What are you talking about?" Shane asked, completely confused.
"No. I heard something." Paige stopped her training as she started to look around, "I heard something too... It's strange though... it was if... I heard it with my mind..."
//Storm! I'm here! That flash of light... I don't know what happened after that... Scott?//
//I'm here, Jean//
Paige put her hands to her head, feeling slight discomfort. "There's someone inside my head." And as she looked to her left she saw Brian looking around as if he had heard something.
//Look like the gang's here, no?// An accented voice came through Shane's head.
"Did anyone hear that?" Shane asked. "I thought I heard Gambit's voice, but I must have hit my head or something."
//Gambit. I can see you... but I can't, I can't move my body!//
"Was that... Cyclops?" Brian asked.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" Paige screamed out, clutching her head.
"Paige!" Kianna went to her but Paige threw a chair close to her, trying to keep them back.
"Stay back! Stay away from me!" Paige screamed as she clutched her head and fell to her knees. "Everyone just shut up! I can't take this! I'm hearing too many voices running through my head! Why can't you just shut up!"
"Okay.........." Shane backed away from Paige. /Hello, voice in my head who sounds like Gambit from the X-Men, what is going on?/
//Don't ask me,// Gambit replied.
//I would believe since the young lady has somehow bonded with Jean, she has acquired her telepathic abilities. Jean, please try and calm her down,// a voice that sounded like Storm requested.
//I'm trying, but I don't understand how this could happen. This is my body though. How could someone else end up being merged with me?// Jean asked.
"Please... please just make it stop..." Paige cried as she was feeling the voices, deafening in her mind.
//Listen to me, please. You have to calm yourself. Close your eyes and just focus on a simple single thing. Something that makes you happy. This will zone out everything else.//
Paige did as Jean instructed, thinking of a nice quiet countryside she had been to as a child. She felt the voices dying down, becoming less deafening until they were normal. She felt someone behind her, helping her up.
"Are you okay?" Brian asked.
"Yeah... I mean I'm better now." Paige shook her head, "But this just entered a whole new phase of weirdness."
"No kidding." Shane completely agreed with her. "I thought having these powers was weird enough, but I thought the X-Men were only comics and a TV show."
//Say what!!!!// Gambit exploded with anger. //Ooooh, whoever did this to us is in a world of trouble when I get my hands on them!//
"No need to yell," Shane said, wincing at the loudness.
//Sorry.// Gambit apologized sheepishly.
// Comics... and a TV show?// Jean thought. //We couldn't possibly be on Mojoworld. This looks like Earth.//
"It is Earth," Brian said. "And until just now we thought you were nothing but costumes we just put on."
//This isn't making any sense,// Storm said. //I wish Professor Xavier was here. Surely, he would know what's going on.//
"That was the same thing I thought," Kianna agreed with her. "I wish he was here. Then he could make sense of this mess."
"Wish who was here?" Shane asked.
//Probably talking about Xavier.// Gambit relayed the info.
//Cyclops, do you have any plans?// Storm inquired.
"Wait a minute!" Brian snapped, "Aren't we forgetting the simple fact that Xavier and the rest of the X-Men don't even exist in real life? I mean it would be saying the same thing as Spider-Man and the Hulk were real and not comic book characters."
//What?! They're not real?// Cylcops said to him.
"Okay... this is definitely sounds like something from a comic book," Paige muttered as she leaned up against a car. "Either we're all losing our minds and hearing voices... or..."
"Or what?" Shane asked.
"Stay with me on this one... but what if some amazingly powerful unknown entity decided to do away with all of the superheroes of the planet."
"But they are just comic book characters," Shane said.
"Only because we 'remember' them that way," Paige replied.
//Reality altering capability. Franklin Richards was capable of such powers.// Jean remembered.
//And we've known our fair share of cosmic beings. It's not out of the question to assume that one we may or may not have met before is responsible for doing this to all superheroes, regardless of them being human or mutant,// Cyclops analyzed.
"Not just the superheroes... but the super villains," Brian breathed. "Remember the Juggernaught and Pryo costumes along with the others. What if they're the same as the ones we are wearing?"
"Then this entity could have affected everyone. Both hero and villain," Paige gasped.
"Okay, so now what do we do?" Shane asked the entire group.
//Cyclops, any answers?// Gambit asked hopefully. No response however. //Yo, Summers.//
//He can't hear you Gambit.// Jean said, //Apparently we can only hear the person who we are connected with.//
//Then how come you can, Red?// Gambit asked. Jean simply rolled her eyes as she replied, //Because I'm psychic.//
//I suggest we learn as much as we can before we make any plans.// Storm spoke. //Your thoughts, Cyclops?//
Jean relayed Storm's message to Cyclops who then asked, //Jean? Can you try to contact the professor?//
//I don't know, Scott. Right now I'm just too disoriented to try. Later maybe, but not now,// Jean replied.
//Okay. In the meantime I think we should do some research,// Cyclops said.
"Research?" Paige asked.
//If the world truly is as changed as you make it sound, we need to know what it's like,// Cyclops said.
"Back to the mall then, to use your laptop, Kianna. Going to be needing it to check stuff on the Internet," Brian suggested.
"That sounds fine with me," Kianna agreed. "But we'll have to change into civilian clothes first. I don't think the rest of the world is ready to handle the return of the X-Men just yet."
"Definitely," Paige agreed.
* * *
Roxy was still in the mall, taking things in as she was teasing the men who were trying to flirt with her there. _Such pigs. They have no idea what the world is like. So trapped in their nice cozy posh houses and fake families. They have no idea what hell is like._
Ever since she had found this so many months ago, she put it on every once in a while. Though that first time, she couldn't just take it off. _Well I learned how to fix that, now didn't I?_
She had already finished her meal, eating light of course, as always. Her body always felt better in this form than in her real form. She only had just enough to survive, but it was sure as hell better than being taken back to the hellhole she had run from.
Money was tight with her as always. She wondered how she was going to get more cash. _Either stealing, scamming or working. Either way, I'm going to need some cash soon._ She didn't like to steal but had done it before to survive. She'd much rather work to gain her money. _And seeing as there aren't any job openings here, I better get looking._
She was making her way out of the mall when she ended up walking past the four people who had come from the costume shop. She cursed chance, wondering what the odds were of that happening. Fortunately it didn't seem like they noticed her so she kept on walking.
It wasn't until she was outside of the mall and walking near the parking garage that she heard footsteps behind her and she felt her own powers giving a bit of a tingle. A smile came to her lips then, _Maybe I won't have to worry about money after all._
* * *
"Something wrong, Paige?" Brian asked.
"You guys see that girl with green hair that walked past us?" Paige asked.
"What girl?" Shane asked. "Though if she had green hair I would have seen it. That does stand out quite a bit."
"I just... when I saw her I thought she looked familiar to me." Paige shook her head, trying to figure out this sense of déjà vu.
Kianna shrugged. "I didn't see any girl with green hair." /Storm?/
//... I have a strange feeling your friend is right,// Storm mused.
//What are the lovely ladies talking about?// Gambit spoke up.
/How should I know?/ Shane responded, completely stumped. "What are you girls talking about?"
Paige's eyes darted over to the back and she decided to walk inside.
"Meanwhile, we should just get started on research for our new friends," Brian spoke. "Kianna?"
Kianna nodded her head in agreement. "That should be no problem. I have a few websites in mind already." She headed towards her laptop and pressed the power button. "This shouldn't take too long."
Shane dropped himself into one of the chairs. /Hey Gambit./
//Yes?//
/Do you know how you ended up like this?/ Shane asked.
//I don't remember. There was a flash of light and suddenly darkness.//
/That's sad, but it makes you wonder who else was effected by it,/ Shane mused.
//........ Hey Jean! Do you remember how many of us were there during our last mission?// Gambit spoke urgently to the psychic.
"Alright. We're all set up," Kianna said, "Now all we need to do is pick a..."
"Oh shit!!!" Paige's voice came as she rushed from the back.
"What is it?" Brian asked.
"The Polaris costume!" Paige exclaimed, "It's not in there!"
"Are you sure? You didn't misplace it?" Brian asked.
"Considering the consequences of what would happen if someone put any of the costumes in the back on, I committed to memory what was in there and where I put them." Paige shook her head. "It was in there this morning and now it's not!"
//This is bad news,// Gambit thought. //Very bad news.//
//Who else would be running around here?// Storm mused.
"Well, whoever it was, that person wasn't a thief, because my laptop was left here," Kianna mentioned. "Besides, no one has been in this place for a very long time. Or did someone leave the lock open?"
"Don't look at me," Shane said, raising his hands as if to say he didn't. "I wasn't the last one to leave."
"Wait a minute, you said there was a girl that had green hair that passed by us? Right, Paige?" Brian asked.
"Yeah. You don't think..." Paige started to say but then something cut her off.
*AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!*
*Please stop!*
"What the hell?!" Paige shouted, putting her hands over her temples.
//People crying out in pain. Your telepathy is still uncontrolled so you could hear it,// Jean told her but then paused. // ... it can't be...//
//Jean, what is it?// Scott asked her.
//Paige we have to go now,// Jean told her.
/What? But I don't.../
//If we don't, then there will be blood spilt and we can't have that! No matter what, we can't let that happen! Please just listen to my directions!//
Paige took a moment before speaking, "Okay Jean, tell me where to go."
//Out of the store and exit to the left. Hurry!//
Paige did just that, running out of the story in a hurry.
"What's going on?" Shane asked.
"Trouble. What else," Brian said as he ran after her.
Shane and Kianna glanced at each other before taking off after their companions. They had no clue what was going on, but they weren't going to sit around and let it happen. Not to mention, their counterparts wanted to help in any way they could.
* * *
"Please... don't hurt us..." a man in black leather groaned, his buddy already unconscious on the ground. The green haired chick was definitely more than they had bargained for. She fought like a freaking witch, physically and literally. They had thought to rob her, take her into the back of the parking lot and have a nice ride with her.
She didn't like those ideas at all. She was looking down on him and his friend, dressed in a black leather jacket she had taken from his friend, wearing a pair of blue pants with yellow boots and a green shirt under the said jacket. Her face though, looked like she was enjoying what she was doing. Stalking him and his friend.
Still, he had one other weapon and he wasn't about to be bossed around by a girl. "Try this on, witch!" He flung his weapon at her so fast he didn't think she'd be able to avoid it.
She didn't have to... it just froze in mid air.
"Nice dagger." The green haired witch smiled darkly. With a wave of her hand, the dagger spun around in the opposite direction, pointed at him.
"Please... please don't kill me..." the man begged.
"Awwwww, who ever said anything about killing you," the girl said all too sweetly.
*SLASH!*
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" the man screamed as he felt the dagger ram into his shoulder blade.
"I was thinking more along the lines of torturing you, rapist," she spat.
The man was in serious trouble now, and he knew what she was. "Mutant whore."
When he saw the smile fade from her face, he knew that was a mistake. "No one.." She put her hand out and the man felt himself being lifted up ward by the metal coins in his pocket, by his belt, and by his own dental fillings. She looked him dead in the eyes. "And I mean no one...calls me a whore!" Once she said that, she flung her hand to the left and before he knew it, he was sent flying against concrete support beam, his body connecting with it. Unconsciousness soon consumed him.
* * *
"Wonder if the scumbag actually survived," Roxy mused to herself. Scums like this made her sick to her stomach. Why didn't the police just put these animals where they belong. Either in jail or six feet under. The streets would be much better without them. Walking over to him, she checked his pulse. _Still alive, though he'll definitely have broken bones and a concussion. That's the least he deserves to get._
There was one thing she knew about living on the streets as a fact. If you are weak, you're as good as dead. She once knew this girl, her name was Danielle if she remembered correctly. During her first month living on the streets she had shown Roxy the ropes of surviving, though she wouldn't enter her profession. That of a hooker.
It was that same profession that got her killed, along with her pimp and his other girls, by a rival outfit who had hired some mutant to burn the entire building down.
She realized that all anyone understood in this world was power and she needed to either have it or know how to work with it to stay alive. One of the only good memories of her home was of reading X-Men comics, and the only character she liked was Polaris/Lorna Dane, who was a lone heroine type. When she found the costume, she thought to put it on just for the heck of it.
She never would have thought that she would have gained her body or her powers. _And learning how to control them has gotten me control over my other power._ Roxy smiled to herself as she pulled out the rapist's wallet and found about fifty-two bucks in there along with some credit cards that definitely weren't his. _Best not to take them, otherwise I will get caught. Just the cash. Nothing else._
As she picked up the man and hauled him over to his buddy, she remembered that it took her two days to finally figure out how the whole getup worked. As far as putting it on and taking it off, that is. Her control over magnetism was so much more than it had been six months ago. _I'm so very much the bomb. I have this power and no one can tell me what to do with it. Who could?_ she asked herself as she pulled out the other man's wallet and found less money than the first one. _Only twenty bucks. Crap. I was hoping for more. Especially with how lowlife looking these guys are... huh?_ She looked into the guy's back pocket and saw a ring... with a finger stuck in it.
Roxy dropped it in a hurry, thankful that she was wearing gloves and that no prints would be left behind. However, her fear soon turned into an all-consuming anger. "You... you sick mother f'ing bastards..." Using her powers of magnetism, she pulled the two over to the center of the street and looked down at them, her anger reaching a breaking point. As she looked around she saw some steel bars. With only a glare she ripped them loose, to become floating arrows.
She looked down again at the thugs and all she could see were monsters. Monsters that were better off dead. Justice had to be served. The police wouldn't do it. She could. She had the power. She had the right. "Get ready... to go to hell!!!"
"STOP!!!"
"Huh?" Roxy spun around, her concentration over the pipes not lessened at all as she looked back.
And saw the four X-Men wannabees in their civilian clothes looking at her.
_Oh. Joy._
* * *
"Now how do you suppose we are going to stop her without getting her hurt, or more importantly, us?" Shane asked everyone.
"I don't know," Kianna replied, though she held her ground. "We only learned how to control some of our powers. Maybe our partners could help us or something?"
//That is not a bad idea,// Storm mused. //The only problem now is if we can take control of our bodies.//
//I'm afraid that's not an option Storm,// Jean said to them all. //I've tried to do that with Paige, with her permission, but I can't even move my own eyes. I can see through them but can't move them. My ability to use my telepathy is limited and I can't use any of my telekinetic powers.//
//What about Lorna, Jean?// Scott asked. //She isn't a killer. If she's like us now then why doesn't she talk to whoever is with her?//
//There's a lot of conflict going on in her mind. I can feel two minds crashing against each other, one is silent while the other is very much dominant,// Jean explained.
"And that must be the girl who took the Polaris outfit and is wearing it now," Paige reasoned.
"Okay, let's do this before anyone gets hurt," Kianna said as she flew into the air. /Storm, you'll have to guide me in using your weather powers, because I haven't mastered them yet./
//Of course.//
"And me without a deck of cards," Shane added dryly.
//Very funny, monsieur,// Gambit returned. //Grab anything you can.//
"Step away from them," Brian ordered.
"One, I don't take orders from you," the pseudo Polaris replied. "Two, these animals were going to try to rape me. And three, they've already killed someone. What I am doing is justice."
"What you are doing is taking the law into your own hands!" Paige snapped.
"Better than giving them to cops that will let them go an hour later," the green haired woman returned icily.
"If you kill them, you are no better than they are," Kianna announced as she pointed towards the two unconscious and injured men.
"No... I am better than them no matter what I do," she said, shaking her head.
Brian however decided to take the option out of her hand as he blasted the floating rods with an optic blast and they were sent flying back, what was left of them anyway. "We need to talk."
The color on her face changed radically. "No... no, I won't let you... I won't let you take this from me!"
"What are you..." Brian muttered but the green haired woman just stared angrily at them.
"If you think I'm going to let you whack jobs take from me the only comfort I have had in so long... you're all out of your minds!" she screamed... and retaliated and several metal objects, trash cans and lead pipes went flying at them.
"Scatter!" Brian cried out as he and Paige moved to avoid the flying objects.
"Whoa!!" Shane yelled, barely dodging a couple of flying trashcans.
Kianna simply flew higher and tried to keep out of sight. "If she keeps this up, there won't be a city to protect."
//We don't have time to play around,// Cyclops said to Brian.
/I know. Just help me figure out how strong to go,/ Brian asked. Cyclops started to direct him into figuring out how powerful an optic blast to use on the woman. Once he was sure of himself, he raised his glasses and let the blast loose, hitting her squarely in the sternum and sending her flying into a wall.
"Oough!" she groaned as she impacted hard, but was still conscious. She saw Brian advancing.
"Had enough yet?" Brian asked her. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Funny... but I won't let you take this from me!" She reached her hand out and Brian was on alert, trying to figure out what metal object would be coming his way.
He was totally unprepared for a fire hydrant to open up and blast him against a car with a heavy burst of water.
//Scott!// Jean shouted.
"Brian!" Paige cried.
/Storm, what do I do?/ Kianna panicked, not knowing how to help her friend.
//Stay calm,// Storm ordered her counterpart. //Concentrate on forming a tornado and moving the water away from Cyclops.//
/I'll try,/ Kianna said nervously. She concentrated her power on forming a tunnel of wind directly in the path of the water. Hopefully, she wouldn't put too much power into the tornado.
"I don't get it. Polaris is a mistress of magnetism. Not water." Paige shook her head. "There's no way she could be able to control water... unless..."
//Unless the girl she's bonded with is a mutant herself,// Jean finished that thought. Through Paige's eyes she saw Brian getting up. //Scott are you alright?//
//Waterlogged... but otherwise still in one piece...// Scott replied.
Kianna redirected the water towards a different area. "Okay, you guys are up."
"I'll distract her," Shane called out. He picked up small stones and charged them before he tossed them around her. "Go!"
The green haired woman managed to avoid the stones before they detonated. "Why! Why can't you people just leave me alone!" she yelled as she used her magnetic abilities to hurl more metal objects at the four of them.
//She's just toying with us right now. Her control is good enough to hurl cars at us if she wanted to,// Jean told Paige.
/Then how do we stop her without killing her?/ Paige asked.
//We need to work together. You have to open your mind to me completely. By doing that it will be as if we are one mentally.// Jean started to lay down her plan. //Once that happens, I'll guide you into assaulting her mind.//
/You want to try to shut her off?/ Paige asked, aghast.
//No. Actually I was thinking of opening up her mind to another voice,// Jean said in such a way that Paige thought she was smiling.
/I gotcha./ Paige smiled as she started to open up her mind.
//Scott. We need her distracted.//
//I got the plan, Jean,// Cyclops returned. //Brian. I need you to aim your shots around her but not at her.//
"I gotcha," Brian said as he started firing optic blasts, weak ones, at the pseudo Polaris, however the shots were meant to miss, and to distract her.
//Try flying around her,// Storm suggested to Kianna.
/Roger,/ Kianna replied. She then started to make complete circles around Roxy while going as fast as she could without becoming dizzy. /I hope she gets dizzy before I do./
//I hope so too,// Storm agreed with her.
//Don't pick up anything metal,// Gambit warned Shane.
/What do you think I've been doing?/ Shane huffed mentally.
//Then what are you waiting for?// Gambit asked a bit impatient. //An invitation?//
/All right, all right,/ Shane said, hurrying to find more stones. Since he couldn't use metal, he had to find alternatives. Stones were preferable, because they were small and they were denser than some of the material there. He aimed each one, being careful not to hit Kianna or the green haired girl.
The pseudo Polaris was trying to get a lock onto Kianna but with her spinning and her friends' attacks coming her way she couldn't concentrate long enough to make a move on her. "Is this all you can do! Play defense?"
_No. It's not._
The green haired girl didn't have time to react as she felt her mind being invaded by a presence. She screamed out and put her hands to her head. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"
"Paige?" Brian asked.
Paige wasn't responding as she was now just as frozen as a statue. In reality, she and Jean were now sharing the same mind, both of them working together in unison. Jean was the guide while the work had to be done by Paige, who was the one in command of the former X-Woman's psychic abilities.
They had gone straight into the young woman's mind and found a maelstrom of pain and misery. Rage against the world, but these were only the surface of the troubled youth's mind and they had no intention of going through her past.
They only came to fix the connection that had never been made... and they did just that.
"Ngh..." Paige groaned as she fell to the ground, blacking out for a moment.
"Paige!" Brian rushed to her as he also heard Cyclops call out for his lover.
Meanwhile, the green haired girl was anything but pleased. That could be seen from the scowl on her face, "That's it! No one invades my mind! I swear I'm going to..."
//Jean! My God! If you harm any of my friends I'll make you regret it!//
The girl froze in her actions, her eyes wide as she heard the voice inside of her head. A voice that was not the one that had invaded her mind just now but was also not her true voice.
It was the voice of the person whose face she wore. "... L... Lorna Dane..."
//What the hell are you thinking?!// the former X-Woman roared, letting her anger be known to the woman she shared a body with.
"I... I was... going to..."
//Kill people in cold blood. //
"No! Not people!" She shook her head. "They are rapists! They are evil people that don't deserve to live!"
//The people that created the Sentinels didn't deserve to live, but we didn't kill them. The people responsible for making my own life miserable didn't deserve to live, but we didn't kill them. We do NOT kill... no matter what!// Lorna stressed to her, //And do you know why? Because it doesn't make us as bad as them... because it would make us LESS than them. Killing makes us less.//
The girl just took in the words, listening to what was being said, her rage dying. Hearing the voice of the only heroine she had ever had in her life, the only one she thought she was even remotely like... condemning what she was doing... and opening up her eyes to a mistake that would have haunted her for the rest of her life. She wasn't a murderer. She didn't want to become one. "... oh my God... what did... what did I just do..." Unable to contain herself any more, she just fell to her knees and buried her head in her hands, breaking down into a sobbing heap.
"Okay, now what?" Shane asked, dropping his small projectiles without charging them.
//You go and comfort her, no?// Gambit suggested.
"Me?" Shane asked hesitantly. "I'm not the best guy for dealing with this." He looked over at his companions, almost pleading that someone else go comfort her.
Kianna, being the motherly type, flew down towards the green haired young lady and landed next to her. She murmured some soothing words as she rubbed her back, hoping that she wouldn't retreat from her.
//She's going to be fine,// Storm assured her counterpart. //It will take some time for her wounds to heal, but I think they will, with the help of friends.//
/I hope so too,/ Kianna thought. /She needs all the support she can get./
//Jean?//
//I'm fine, Scott,// Jean said peacefully, even though Paige was still motionless. //Apparently even if Paige is rendered unconscious, I'm still awake.// She hesitated a bit before saying, //She's the only one that can feel any pain that occurs... I wish that wasn't so.//
// Jean...//
//She didn't ask for this, Scott.//
//And we didn't ask for our mutant powers.//
/Cept of course we had the choice of putting on what looked like a pair of costumes or not,/ Brian said. /Paige is strong willed even if she's shy. She'll be fine./
Jean sighed, deciding to believe Brian in his words about her counterpart. //In regards to our friend who has bonded with Lorna, she's definitely a mutant. A troubled one. When we were in her mind I saw rage and anger against the world.//
//Meaning she could very easily go either way,// Scott muttered.
//We can't push her, Scott. If we do,// Jean lingered for a bit before saying, //We could lose her.//
* * *
Shame.
That was the predominate emotion that Roxy felt at that moment. Shame that she had allowed her emotions to get the better of her. Shame that she had allowed herself to get so angered that she was ready to kill people, even if they deserved it. Shame for attacking innocent people. Most of all, shame for being such a fool. The person she had thought to have looked up to as a role model, one that was fictional... was actually real. _And she hates me._
//Hate, no. Angry with, damn straight.//
/L... Lorna.../
//I guess Jean managed to connect us properly. Can I tell you how much I have been kicking and screaming for the last six months trying to get your attention, Roxy?//
/You know my name?/
//There's not much I don't know about you, considering how you've been broadcasting your thoughts when you've worn me,// Lorna replied in a soft voice. //I have to say though, I was feeling very depressed for a while, finding out I had been reduced to nothing more than a piece of latex skin.//
/Reduced to... but... aren't you... I mean.../ Roxy's mind was a whirl of confusion, her thoughts of Lorna had been that she had been a fictional character, but now...
//I was once very much real and thought I was helping the world to become a better place... the only problem now is that I have learned the world has changed and it's as if we've all been erased...// Lorna shook her head. //Sorry. Not erased. More like reformatted by someone as a cruel joke. Nothing of Professor Xavier or the X-Men or the Avengers or Fantastic Four...//
/WHAT?! You mean they're supposed to be real too! You are yanking my chain!/
//Do you feel me yanking it?//
Roxy tried to come back with a snappy come back, something to say she was lying, not wanting to believe anyone but herself as she had relied on no one but herself for so long on the streets... but with Lorna, she could just feel, just know that she was telling her the truth. As she thought about Lorna, she started to remember things that had happened to her. /The time that I worked on levitating that Volvo... was that your idea?/
//I did what I could to help you. Even if you couldn't hear me, you could feel my nudges. You had to learn how to control my power without leveling whole buildings,// Lorna replied. //You have a lot of potential, Roxy.//
/Really?!/
//But you have so much anger.// It seemed as if Lorna shook her head. //I can't ask you to give it up. Or to trust people that you've never met. But those people around us, they are my friends and I trust them. Can't you at least give them enough of a chance to listen?//
Roxy was about to react when she felt arms around her body, and saw that it was the one called Storm hugging her. She was going to break free, but oddly she didn't. It felt... warm to her. A soft and gentle touch that she had never felt before in her life. Not even from her own mother, before she started to...
The sound of sirens started to fill the area.
"Looks like we have company," the one that was Gambit said.
"Someone must have heard the commotion from our attacks. We have to get out of here before we are discovered," the one that was Cyclops said, lifting the body of Jean Grey in his arms.
Roxy looked up and saw Storm looking her calmly and serenely in the eyes. "Please, come with us."
For the first time in a long while, Roxy wasn't sure what to do. She could just run, she had the power to do so. She could just stay, feel sorry for herself, and let the cops hang her out to dry as a mutant. Or she could put her trust in four people, having no idea what they were like or who they were under their X-Men identities.
//Give them a chance.//
In the end, she did trust someone.
She trusted Lorna.
"Let's get out of here," Roxy said to Storm, and the two women made their escape from the parking lot.
To Be Continued...