Disclaimer: These characters don't belong to me; I'm just using them for
fun.
This is How the Story Begins, Part 2
By starched_undergarments
"Nate, hey Naaaate!"
He could hear someone calling him, a familiar voice off in the distance, he turned over onto his side and buried his head under his pillows, trying to ignore the voice, wanting to drift back to sleep.
"Naaaaaaaaaate!! Natenatenatenate!!"
Defeated he opened one eye and found Leslie peering down at him, she was fully dressed and had her hair pushed back prettily.
"Mmmmfrrmmble." He sleep-mumbled and she smiled, shaking his shoulder playfully.
"Wake up sleepy head! It's almost noon!"
He groaned and sank further into his bed, not wanting to get up. He had only fallen asleep a few hours ago, spending most of the night pondering his nightmare. She poked at him a few more times before pouncing on top on him.
"Up and add 'am Captain!" She cheered, bouncing on his rib cage.
"All right, all-ugh!" He sat up, shaking his head disapprovingly, she grinned and sat on his bed watching him curiously as he slid out of bed and stretched.
He turned and regarded her over the brim of his glasses, one eyebrow raised.
"Are you just going to sit there while I undress or are you going to am'scray little girl."
The afternoon that followed was fairly uneventful, Leslie and Sadie went out for ice cream and Tommy spent most of the day down at the beach picking up 'hot, nubile chickees', which left Nate alone in the house with his work.
Around dinnertime the gang came home with Chinese food only to find Nate stationed on the couch, sipping tea, while watching the news.
"Hey Captain," Sadie called as she stepped out of her Gucci heels, "have a nice relaxing day?"
He nodded and got up, getting plates out and preparing to serve up the steaming hot food.
"Very much so, and I trust all of your afternoon's were pleasant as well?"
Tommy grinned and spooned himself a heaping pile of chow mein, "I managed to score some hottie's number, Bonus!!"
Sadie rolled her eyes at Leslie who giggled but then stopped, her brows knitting together in a line of concern.
"Nate?" She asked, staring at the sudden blank and almost fearful expression on their usually completely composed captain.
She followed his blank gaze to the television screen, where the evening news played.
"..the local ceremony will take place sometime next week at St. Michael's Church and School for Girls, and as all the preparations take place the residents had this to say.."
"We have to go." He said, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.
***
Ethan was, as far as he could tell, screwed beyond all belief. He sat with his back against the school's office wall, his mouth set in a grimace of disbelief.
He couldn't believe that Mr. Hammilton was blaming him for the cherry bomb in the girl's bathroom, slouching further against the wall he thought about how his mother would react to this accusation.
The door opened and Mr. Hammilton stepped out, a frustrated and almost disappointed look on his face, behind him was Miss Fairchild.
He held back a grin and knew what had happened, she had, once again saved his ass.
"Well," Mr. Hammilton said a little disgruntled, "it seems I've been mistaken, you're off the hook this time Mr. York."
He strode past Ethan with a scowl and went off towards his office, Caitlin paused then shook her head.
"Man, has he ever got it in for you!"
He turned and smiled up at her, "Yeah.hey thanks for.you know."
She smiled back and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Anytime."
***
Smoke streamed its way up to heaven in graceful waves; she watched it with moody apprehension. She inhaled on the cigarette and favored the soothing taste as well as the nasty glares she was getting from the other girls in the lunchroom.
It was lunchtime and like always she sat alone, towards the back; it had always been like this, she was an outsider, unwelcome, and not wanted.
Not that she cared or anything.
A group of girls walked by, intentionally snubbing her, making snide remarks behind their hands and snickering. She took one last drag and stubbed the cigarette out, exhaling the last bit of smoke in rings of defiance.
With a sharp glance around she grabbed her bag and began to stride towards the doors, not noticing as one the nastier girls stretched her foot out directly in her path.
She fell hard, bashing her chin on the floor, making her teeth clank together. She heard laughter and her anger begin to boil.
"Awww did the school tramp take a little spill? Don't worry, I'm sure your fat ass cushioned the fall."
Furious and hurt she whirled around and faced the group of girls responsible, her mouth set in a snarl.
"You are so dead Rachelle."
The fight was on.
***
"Oh gy mod," Leslie choked out, staring in disbelief at what was before her; school girls, dozens of them, in little pleated skirts and white socks.
"Right on!" Tommy yelled from the back of Nate's black convertible as the cruised by the outside of St. Michael's School for girls.
"Catholic School Girls!!"
Leslie continued to stare, "Oh Captain, you really are a dirty old man.."
Nate stopped the car and turned around, regarding them seriously.
"Tommy you stay here, keep the car running and be ready to go when we get back. Leslie, Sadie, you guys come with me."
The girls got out, giving their leader a questionable look as they walked towards the towering iron gates that held the poor girls of St. Michael's like a holy prison.
"Look Nate if this is your way of picking up underage girls then go ahead but why do we have to come?" Sadie asked, annoyed.
Nate ignored her and grasped the iron gates and pulled, spreading them apart easily and walking casually through.
"Captain!" Leslie said, worried at the sudden seriousness of this bizarre scenario. "What's going on?"
"We're here to pick up a Gen-active," he said, surveying the area with expertise eyes. "And from the looks of it, we'll find her over there."
Leslie turned and looked towards what seemed to be the cafeteria, where apparently all Hell had broken loose.
The three ran over, and as they dodged debris and scared schoolgirls Leslie couldn't help but have a sudden wave of deja-veu, the feeling like she had seen this kind of manifestation before.
Nate booted the doors open and dodged a flying table, Leslie screamed and stepped to one side as it bounced and then broke, she turned and stopped dead in her track, spying the Gen-active.
"Oh my god, " she whispered, her eyes going wide.
"It's Roxy!!"
***
At first it had just been your regular cat-fight, hair pulling, nail scratching, name calling, but when Rachelle had gone one step further and drew blood Roxanne Spaulding let loose. She screamed, punched, kicked, spat, and she even, although she didn't notice, began to tap into her dormant Gen-active powers.
The other girls had freaked, taking off as soon as tables and chairs began to float and crash about the room, and at first Roxy had felt the thrill of triumph but one quick look around and it all crashed. See the thing about Gen-active powers is that it's easy to start them, getting them to stop however is a whole different story.
"Oh my god, Roxy?!"
She turned and saw a young blonde girl coming towards her, her face frozen in an expression of disbelief.
"Roxy?!"
Pain.
Sudden, intense, crippling pain flashed in her mind and she was rocked backwards by it, her mind screaming as she fell to the floor, clawing at her head. Images flooded her mind, bright flashes of events that were hers, yet not.
Friends Family Love Hate Life Death
Nate took a step back as Roxy writhed on the floor, screaming out in pain, her powers flooding the room as well as outside. He turned and saw that cars, hell even parts of the church itself were being uprooted and tossed around by the awesome force of gravity gone wild.
"Oh shit," he murmured and looked back at her.
Her eyes were wide, tears streamed down her cheeks while blood oozed out of her nose, and still she screamed.
Because her mind was literally tearing itself apart.
***
When Ethan and Dylan arrived home from after school (and after a quick stop at the arcade of course) they found Miss Fairchild had beaten them and was already preparing dinner.
She had changed out of her usual suit and was now in a pair of faded jeans and a tank top; she smiled warmly and greeted the boys, informing them that their mother had been called into work.
"I hope you guys don't mind spaghetti for dinner," she said giving the boiling pot of noodles a stir.
"Nope, we all like it, especially ol Jenny Penny here," he said tickling the babies chin, "she just loves to get it everywhere but her mouth."
Caitlin laughed and moved to slice the garlic bread, pausing suddenly, her hands flying up to her temples.
"The girl." She managed to breathe before she collapsed to the ground, her body clenching up in pain, a silent scream emanating from her open mouth.
"Miss Fairchild!" Ethan rushed over to her, knocking his chair over in the process. He grabbed shoulders and tried to steady her, shouting at his brother to get the baby out of the room and to keep their younger sister away.
"-but?"
"Do it!" He barked, his mind whirling.
She was strong, too strong really but somehow he managed to hold onto her, panic rose in his mind and he shoved it away, trying desperately to focus.
"Oh god, do something!" His mind shouted at him and he did what was only natural. Drawing upon his new and slightly scary powers he reached backwards to the burning hot element, using it's flame as a catalyst he sent a wave of light into Miss Fairchild's body.
There was a brief flash and then nothing.
It had worked; she lay still, her breathing slowly returning to normal. After a few moments her eyes blinked, their usual clarity returning.
She sat up and Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, he helped her stand, supporting some of her weight.
"What the hell was that?" He asked and she steadied herself, her brows knitted together in contemplation.
"I don't know, but I think I need to be somewhere."
***
At the same time that Caitlin Fairchild was making dinner Nate, or Captain Bitterness was starting to believe that he and his friends were royally fucked.
Upon spotting Leslie, Roxanne had gone completely nuts, her powers raging out of control. Sending tables, chairs, bags, books, cars, and parts of the building flying everywhere.
"Nate what's wrong with her?" Leslie yelled to him over the noise, bracing them against the chaos with an energy shield.
"When she saw you she must have remembered what happened to her," he shouted back, "and I think it's destroying her mind."
Then it stopped.
As suddenly as it had begun it stopped, Roxy's scream tapering off as she collapsed to the ground unconscious. Leslie took down her field cautiously as Nate walked calmly over to their old friend and scooped her up into his arms.
"My god," Leslie murmured as she looked around at the damage, to say the least there was not much left of St. Michael's.
"Is she okay?" She asked, peering at Roxy's now serene and sleeping face.
"I don't think so," Nate mused and started for the car, the girls hurried along side him.
"How can she still be alive?" Sadie asked, stepping over some rubble.
"Maybe we when we used the Energy Transmission Nullifier it created more than just the Gen-factor Construct, maybe it."
"Maybe it was God." Leslie interrupted, her face solemn and serious. Nate snorted, and Sadie put a hand of Leslie's small shoulder.
"Well it doesn't matter how she' here, just that she's alive and well."
Nate set her gently in the back of the car, eyes grave.
"I'm not so sure of that."
***
Several hours later, as Caitlin Fairchild stepped off the plane and into the all too familiar blast of La Jolla's hot and humid weather, she couldn't help but feel like she was coming home.
"So many things happened to us here," She mused, hailing a cab. She got in and leaned against the sweaty ripped seats, she closed her eyes, trying hard to focus on the throbbing feeling of the psionic imprint that she had been able to trace.
The cabby eyed her suspiciously but when she passed him a fifty he started the cab and swerved out into traffic, not questioning her.
"Roxanne." She whispered softly.
***
"Roxanne," a voice called and she stirred, her amethyst eyes fluttering.
"Roxanne."
Finally she came to, her eyes slowly opening upon the sight of a handsome Asian man at her side, she, as far she could tell was laying on a black leather couch in said man's living room.
"Where the hell?" She started and then winced as a bolt of pain shot through her mind.
"Nate?" She asked, her mind swirling with lost images.
"Yes," he answered, helping her up into a sitting position.
"I know you don't I?"
"Yes. Do you remember?"
She shook her head and then winced once more, "Yes.no. I mean yes."
Nate stroked her hair and handed her a glass of water, "Don't force it. Just relax, you're safe, we're going to try and help you any way we can."
She smiled gratefully and he handed her the T.V. remote and left her to relax, heading into the kitchen to converse with the rest of his team.
"This is too bizarro," Leslie muttered as she chewed on her thumbnail, "So does she remember us or what?"
"Yes and no," Nate explained, "I think what we have here is a case of memory over-lap, she remembers two lives. The one she has now and the one we knew her in, the problem is that unless she settles on one her mind will break and she'll most likely go insane."
"Like she did before?" Leslie peeped, her eyes going wide.
"Worse."
Sadie shook her head, "I don't get it though, why did she stop before? What happened?"
"Perhaps I can help explain that." A voice said and Caitlin Fairchild stepped into the room.
***
End Part 2
This is How the Story Begins, Part 2
By starched_undergarments
"Nate, hey Naaaate!"
He could hear someone calling him, a familiar voice off in the distance, he turned over onto his side and buried his head under his pillows, trying to ignore the voice, wanting to drift back to sleep.
"Naaaaaaaaaate!! Natenatenatenate!!"
Defeated he opened one eye and found Leslie peering down at him, she was fully dressed and had her hair pushed back prettily.
"Mmmmfrrmmble." He sleep-mumbled and she smiled, shaking his shoulder playfully.
"Wake up sleepy head! It's almost noon!"
He groaned and sank further into his bed, not wanting to get up. He had only fallen asleep a few hours ago, spending most of the night pondering his nightmare. She poked at him a few more times before pouncing on top on him.
"Up and add 'am Captain!" She cheered, bouncing on his rib cage.
"All right, all-ugh!" He sat up, shaking his head disapprovingly, she grinned and sat on his bed watching him curiously as he slid out of bed and stretched.
He turned and regarded her over the brim of his glasses, one eyebrow raised.
"Are you just going to sit there while I undress or are you going to am'scray little girl."
The afternoon that followed was fairly uneventful, Leslie and Sadie went out for ice cream and Tommy spent most of the day down at the beach picking up 'hot, nubile chickees', which left Nate alone in the house with his work.
Around dinnertime the gang came home with Chinese food only to find Nate stationed on the couch, sipping tea, while watching the news.
"Hey Captain," Sadie called as she stepped out of her Gucci heels, "have a nice relaxing day?"
He nodded and got up, getting plates out and preparing to serve up the steaming hot food.
"Very much so, and I trust all of your afternoon's were pleasant as well?"
Tommy grinned and spooned himself a heaping pile of chow mein, "I managed to score some hottie's number, Bonus!!"
Sadie rolled her eyes at Leslie who giggled but then stopped, her brows knitting together in a line of concern.
"Nate?" She asked, staring at the sudden blank and almost fearful expression on their usually completely composed captain.
She followed his blank gaze to the television screen, where the evening news played.
"..the local ceremony will take place sometime next week at St. Michael's Church and School for Girls, and as all the preparations take place the residents had this to say.."
"We have to go." He said, grabbing his coat and heading for the door.
***
Ethan was, as far as he could tell, screwed beyond all belief. He sat with his back against the school's office wall, his mouth set in a grimace of disbelief.
He couldn't believe that Mr. Hammilton was blaming him for the cherry bomb in the girl's bathroom, slouching further against the wall he thought about how his mother would react to this accusation.
The door opened and Mr. Hammilton stepped out, a frustrated and almost disappointed look on his face, behind him was Miss Fairchild.
He held back a grin and knew what had happened, she had, once again saved his ass.
"Well," Mr. Hammilton said a little disgruntled, "it seems I've been mistaken, you're off the hook this time Mr. York."
He strode past Ethan with a scowl and went off towards his office, Caitlin paused then shook her head.
"Man, has he ever got it in for you!"
He turned and smiled up at her, "Yeah.hey thanks for.you know."
She smiled back and put a hand on his shoulder.
"Anytime."
***
Smoke streamed its way up to heaven in graceful waves; she watched it with moody apprehension. She inhaled on the cigarette and favored the soothing taste as well as the nasty glares she was getting from the other girls in the lunchroom.
It was lunchtime and like always she sat alone, towards the back; it had always been like this, she was an outsider, unwelcome, and not wanted.
Not that she cared or anything.
A group of girls walked by, intentionally snubbing her, making snide remarks behind their hands and snickering. She took one last drag and stubbed the cigarette out, exhaling the last bit of smoke in rings of defiance.
With a sharp glance around she grabbed her bag and began to stride towards the doors, not noticing as one the nastier girls stretched her foot out directly in her path.
She fell hard, bashing her chin on the floor, making her teeth clank together. She heard laughter and her anger begin to boil.
"Awww did the school tramp take a little spill? Don't worry, I'm sure your fat ass cushioned the fall."
Furious and hurt she whirled around and faced the group of girls responsible, her mouth set in a snarl.
"You are so dead Rachelle."
The fight was on.
***
"Oh gy mod," Leslie choked out, staring in disbelief at what was before her; school girls, dozens of them, in little pleated skirts and white socks.
"Right on!" Tommy yelled from the back of Nate's black convertible as the cruised by the outside of St. Michael's School for girls.
"Catholic School Girls!!"
Leslie continued to stare, "Oh Captain, you really are a dirty old man.."
Nate stopped the car and turned around, regarding them seriously.
"Tommy you stay here, keep the car running and be ready to go when we get back. Leslie, Sadie, you guys come with me."
The girls got out, giving their leader a questionable look as they walked towards the towering iron gates that held the poor girls of St. Michael's like a holy prison.
"Look Nate if this is your way of picking up underage girls then go ahead but why do we have to come?" Sadie asked, annoyed.
Nate ignored her and grasped the iron gates and pulled, spreading them apart easily and walking casually through.
"Captain!" Leslie said, worried at the sudden seriousness of this bizarre scenario. "What's going on?"
"We're here to pick up a Gen-active," he said, surveying the area with expertise eyes. "And from the looks of it, we'll find her over there."
Leslie turned and looked towards what seemed to be the cafeteria, where apparently all Hell had broken loose.
The three ran over, and as they dodged debris and scared schoolgirls Leslie couldn't help but have a sudden wave of deja-veu, the feeling like she had seen this kind of manifestation before.
Nate booted the doors open and dodged a flying table, Leslie screamed and stepped to one side as it bounced and then broke, she turned and stopped dead in her track, spying the Gen-active.
"Oh my god, " she whispered, her eyes going wide.
"It's Roxy!!"
***
At first it had just been your regular cat-fight, hair pulling, nail scratching, name calling, but when Rachelle had gone one step further and drew blood Roxanne Spaulding let loose. She screamed, punched, kicked, spat, and she even, although she didn't notice, began to tap into her dormant Gen-active powers.
The other girls had freaked, taking off as soon as tables and chairs began to float and crash about the room, and at first Roxy had felt the thrill of triumph but one quick look around and it all crashed. See the thing about Gen-active powers is that it's easy to start them, getting them to stop however is a whole different story.
"Oh my god, Roxy?!"
She turned and saw a young blonde girl coming towards her, her face frozen in an expression of disbelief.
"Roxy?!"
Pain.
Sudden, intense, crippling pain flashed in her mind and she was rocked backwards by it, her mind screaming as she fell to the floor, clawing at her head. Images flooded her mind, bright flashes of events that were hers, yet not.
Friends Family Love Hate Life Death
Nate took a step back as Roxy writhed on the floor, screaming out in pain, her powers flooding the room as well as outside. He turned and saw that cars, hell even parts of the church itself were being uprooted and tossed around by the awesome force of gravity gone wild.
"Oh shit," he murmured and looked back at her.
Her eyes were wide, tears streamed down her cheeks while blood oozed out of her nose, and still she screamed.
Because her mind was literally tearing itself apart.
***
When Ethan and Dylan arrived home from after school (and after a quick stop at the arcade of course) they found Miss Fairchild had beaten them and was already preparing dinner.
She had changed out of her usual suit and was now in a pair of faded jeans and a tank top; she smiled warmly and greeted the boys, informing them that their mother had been called into work.
"I hope you guys don't mind spaghetti for dinner," she said giving the boiling pot of noodles a stir.
"Nope, we all like it, especially ol Jenny Penny here," he said tickling the babies chin, "she just loves to get it everywhere but her mouth."
Caitlin laughed and moved to slice the garlic bread, pausing suddenly, her hands flying up to her temples.
"The girl." She managed to breathe before she collapsed to the ground, her body clenching up in pain, a silent scream emanating from her open mouth.
"Miss Fairchild!" Ethan rushed over to her, knocking his chair over in the process. He grabbed shoulders and tried to steady her, shouting at his brother to get the baby out of the room and to keep their younger sister away.
"-but?"
"Do it!" He barked, his mind whirling.
She was strong, too strong really but somehow he managed to hold onto her, panic rose in his mind and he shoved it away, trying desperately to focus.
"Oh god, do something!" His mind shouted at him and he did what was only natural. Drawing upon his new and slightly scary powers he reached backwards to the burning hot element, using it's flame as a catalyst he sent a wave of light into Miss Fairchild's body.
There was a brief flash and then nothing.
It had worked; she lay still, her breathing slowly returning to normal. After a few moments her eyes blinked, their usual clarity returning.
She sat up and Ethan breathed a sigh of relief, he helped her stand, supporting some of her weight.
"What the hell was that?" He asked and she steadied herself, her brows knitted together in contemplation.
"I don't know, but I think I need to be somewhere."
***
At the same time that Caitlin Fairchild was making dinner Nate, or Captain Bitterness was starting to believe that he and his friends were royally fucked.
Upon spotting Leslie, Roxanne had gone completely nuts, her powers raging out of control. Sending tables, chairs, bags, books, cars, and parts of the building flying everywhere.
"Nate what's wrong with her?" Leslie yelled to him over the noise, bracing them against the chaos with an energy shield.
"When she saw you she must have remembered what happened to her," he shouted back, "and I think it's destroying her mind."
Then it stopped.
As suddenly as it had begun it stopped, Roxy's scream tapering off as she collapsed to the ground unconscious. Leslie took down her field cautiously as Nate walked calmly over to their old friend and scooped her up into his arms.
"My god," Leslie murmured as she looked around at the damage, to say the least there was not much left of St. Michael's.
"Is she okay?" She asked, peering at Roxy's now serene and sleeping face.
"I don't think so," Nate mused and started for the car, the girls hurried along side him.
"How can she still be alive?" Sadie asked, stepping over some rubble.
"Maybe we when we used the Energy Transmission Nullifier it created more than just the Gen-factor Construct, maybe it."
"Maybe it was God." Leslie interrupted, her face solemn and serious. Nate snorted, and Sadie put a hand of Leslie's small shoulder.
"Well it doesn't matter how she' here, just that she's alive and well."
Nate set her gently in the back of the car, eyes grave.
"I'm not so sure of that."
***
Several hours later, as Caitlin Fairchild stepped off the plane and into the all too familiar blast of La Jolla's hot and humid weather, she couldn't help but feel like she was coming home.
"So many things happened to us here," She mused, hailing a cab. She got in and leaned against the sweaty ripped seats, she closed her eyes, trying hard to focus on the throbbing feeling of the psionic imprint that she had been able to trace.
The cabby eyed her suspiciously but when she passed him a fifty he started the cab and swerved out into traffic, not questioning her.
"Roxanne." She whispered softly.
***
"Roxanne," a voice called and she stirred, her amethyst eyes fluttering.
"Roxanne."
Finally she came to, her eyes slowly opening upon the sight of a handsome Asian man at her side, she, as far she could tell was laying on a black leather couch in said man's living room.
"Where the hell?" She started and then winced as a bolt of pain shot through her mind.
"Nate?" She asked, her mind swirling with lost images.
"Yes," he answered, helping her up into a sitting position.
"I know you don't I?"
"Yes. Do you remember?"
She shook her head and then winced once more, "Yes.no. I mean yes."
Nate stroked her hair and handed her a glass of water, "Don't force it. Just relax, you're safe, we're going to try and help you any way we can."
She smiled gratefully and he handed her the T.V. remote and left her to relax, heading into the kitchen to converse with the rest of his team.
"This is too bizarro," Leslie muttered as she chewed on her thumbnail, "So does she remember us or what?"
"Yes and no," Nate explained, "I think what we have here is a case of memory over-lap, she remembers two lives. The one she has now and the one we knew her in, the problem is that unless she settles on one her mind will break and she'll most likely go insane."
"Like she did before?" Leslie peeped, her eyes going wide.
"Worse."
Sadie shook her head, "I don't get it though, why did she stop before? What happened?"
"Perhaps I can help explain that." A voice said and Caitlin Fairchild stepped into the room.
***
End Part 2