Chapter 11 - Make Over.
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*Author's note - I'm not going to make this story drawn out like I started to. So...I'm skipping a couple of segments, they'll be included in an R-rated 'deleted scenes' story. Look out for that some time in the future.*
"Morning, Sleepyhead." Nicole said happily as she hopped onto Claudette's bed, as she slept. Claudette heard her sister's voice, and then groaned as she tried pushing Nicole, out of her bed. .
"Nic, it's too early in the morning." Claudette grumbled in a groggy, tired tone. .
"Claude, it's noon." Nicole responded, smiling.
"Well it feels too early. You and that damn boyfriend of yours keep me up all night."
"My, My, My, how the tables have turned." Nicole lay back onto her own bed.
"Bitch." Claudette sat up and threw a pillow at her. But, Nicole stopped it telekinetically before it hit her and reversed it, making a direct hit in Claudette's face. Nicole sat back and laughed when Claudette made a dive onto Nicole's bed to attack her and they wrestled each other. While they did this, they girls felt a gust of wind blow through the room. While still playing, Claudette and Nicole to see Pietro sitting on Claudette's bed, in full uniform. "Don't mind me, just continue." The girls moved away from each other. Lance peeked around the corner, "Pietro, man, you haven't told them yet."
"I was getting to it."
Lance rolled his eyes, "Ladies, we need M in five."
Nicole looked at her boyfriend, "Why?"
"Don't know. Myst and Mags want us suited up and at the army base in Greenfield."
Claudette looked at Nicole, "Let's do this then."
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The 'hood arrived at the base, with that truck full of precious stones. This place had an ominous feel to it. "Creepy." Lance said, getting out of the truck and walking to the entrance of what looked like a huge laboratory construction. M and Blob carried two crates each down an extended hallway. They came onto an enormous laboratory; the contents of the lab were predominately made of metal. Obviously, it was and old military experiment laboratory. Possibly taken over by Magneto after he decided to invest in "offshore repossessions". Whatever it was, being there made M feel a sense of ere in the atmosphere.
They began placing the crates around the room.
"Yo, this place looks like a scene from Hollow Man." Toad said.
"Seriously." Scarlet commented.
"Welcome boys and girls..." They heard a strong male voice say. All the group members turned toward that direction, only to see Magneto standing next to a large object surrounded by a huge white sheet. He smirked and continued, "...I hope you like our new headquarters. It took some doing to cover up our location from that miscreant Charles Xavier; so be grateful."
A female figure appeared from an open door opposite Magneto. Along with her were two rather large males. There was no question, that this was Mystique and the remaining members of the Acolytes; Colossus and Sabretooth. "Hello children." Mystique greeted smiling fiendishly. She looked over at Magneto, "So, Eric. Shall we commence?" He gave her an approving look, so Colossus stalked over to the concealed commodity, Sabretooth treaded on behind the group of teens, while Mystique moved to a mechanism that must have controlled unrevealed item.
Magneto gazed at M, and begin stroll over to her. "My, Mystique. What a beauty our newest recruit is. Now, I see you know what you're doing." M continued to stand there emotionless as Magneto approached her. He placed his fingertips on the silhouette of her face. "It's nice to finally meet, this young woman I've heard so much about." M slapped his fingers away. "Feisty." He said, "Now, I see what my son sees in you." He stepped away from her.
Pietro began getting offensive, knowing that his girlfriend was in that body. "Dad, What are you..."
"...Trying to pull. Right, Pietro?"
Pietro was surprised that he knew was he was going to say. "Yeah?"
"Nothing, my dear boy. She's far too young for me. Through the thought of a woman with power equal to my own certainly arouses me." He strolled back over to his original position.
All the teens had been freaking out in their minds by his comment. Equal in power? They all questioned.
"Monet, my dear. As beautiful as you are in this state, you must return to your natural states." M did as asked, splitting back into two beings, Nicole and Claudette. "Now, I will begin my presentation." Magneto paced himself back and forth, before the mysterious object. "I know you all are wondering why I had you to smuggle loads of precious gems into Bayville and now into this base. Well, they are part of an operation I've had in mind for years now. These splendors are the key ingredients for a little creation I like to call..." Colossus pulled the sheet, and revealed the contents underneath. "...My Mutant Augmentation Apparatus. This device intensifies your mutations that you've already mastered, and unlocks powers that you never knew existed within you."
The apparatus was a huge tank, connected to a series of computer-operated mechanisms that controlled how much energy was employed and the way it was utilized. Magneto looked to the gang, and said "Thanks to Mystique, we have our first mutant test subjects."
"Nicole, did he just say 'first' test subjects?" Claudette whispered to her sister.
Nicole stunned herself, just nodded. Then she looked at Colossus and noticed that he was moving toward herself and Claudette. "Girls, don't be afraid this will only help you."
"Like hell it will!" Claudette stated, "You just said we were your first mutant subjects. So you don't know what that thing will do to us."
"That's true my dear. But it's not like you have a choice in the matter. So sweetheart, you either go the easy way, and escort yourself over here..." Nicole felt and a large cat's claw, brush her hair behind her ear, and hot breath on her neck. "...Or Sabretooth and Colossus will. And I'm sure Sabretooth has no problem with that, do you Sabretooth?" Sabretooth growled, and then said, "I know I like little kittens. Especially ones as pretty as you two." Lance was about to jump on Sabretooth when Freddie stopped him. .
"Nicole..." Claudette squeaked. "This is really bad."
"I know that." Nicole answered. But in a matter of seconds, Nicole realized a possibly effective escape plan. She started slowly, pacing toward Magneto.
"Nic, what are you doing?" Claudette asked rather afraid.
"Good girl." Magneto stated.
But before they could even blink, Nicole cartwheeled backward, kicking Sabretooth's head and slamming him into the ground. "Claudette, RUN!" She shouted. Claudette attempted to fly off, but Colossus grabbed her feet, preventing her from getting higher. Mystique had grabbed a tranquilizer gun and tranqed Claudette as she kicked her way free. Nicole wrestled with Sabretooth for a few moments before, picking him up and tossing him behind her so that she make a run for it. Nicole successfully ran for the door, until she was pummeled by metal shelving. The shelving had become fixated around her body and a wall, and there was strong force behind it preventing her from breaking through it. Magneto entrapped her in one of the simplest objects in the room.
"I told you before my dearest. You either do it voluntarily or involuntarily, and you obviously made your choice."
Claudette was starting to recover as Colossus carried her off to the machine. He strapped her inside the tank, placed electrodes and a breathing mask on her head, and quickly left to watch her.
"Hey Magnus." Nicole called out to Magneto, and he turned to her. "If anything happens to her, I swear I will tear you limb from limb."
"Young lady, that's no way to talk to your superior, and the man that holds your sister's life in his hands."
Mystique juiced up the machine. The other brotherhood members watched on as the tank's bottom gradually filled with a green fluid. Claudette started infrequently shaking, they could hear faint cries coming from her. Tears started streaming from her eyes. Then you could hear her say airily, "Pietro...help me." Pietro turned to his father and Magneto looked back him with a look that said don't-even-try-it. Then she said even weaker, "Nicole..."
Nicole fidgeted, "LET HER GO YOU BASTARD!"
"Just wait, dear. It will be your turn soon enough. Sabretooth, add the chemical."
Sabretooth took a large beaker, and poured it in an opening, that was connected to tubing that lead to a headband that Colossus had placed on her head leaking into her body. As the chemical flowed into her body, Claudette began screaming. Nicole couldn't bear hearing her sister in so much pain; the tears just ran down her cheeks. "STOP IT, PLEASE!" She shouted.
But they wouldn't. As the last drops of fluid transpired in, Claudette started to gnarl, and bang savagely against the tank. The gnarling got louder and more vigorous, and her body started convulsing violently. The group of teens stood back, shocked. They saw a tremendous cloud overtake the top part of tank. They heard the tumultuous cry of a hawk and the bottom of the drained tank, lay Claudette unconscious. She looked different though, her was a light brown, with black spots all over, and a big patch of white in the front; like the design you'd see on a falcon. Her hands were now claws, like those of a bird, and she had wings with the same design and colors as her hair. Pietro bolted over to Claudette, he carried her out of the tank and out through the door that Mystique came in.
"Looks like test number one was a success. Subject two are you ready? Silly me, of course you are." Magneto raised his hands and lifted Nicole into the air moving her over to the tank where Sabretooth was. Magneto unraveled the scraps of metal, and Sabretooth shoved Nicole into the tank, violently strapped her in. "I hope you enjoy this as much as I will." Sabretooth slammed the door shut.
The process started the same for Nicole as it did for Claudette. It was tremendous pain for Nicole, but she refused to let Magneto get her. "Why must we resist, Nicole?" Magneto said to her. "Sabretooth, the chemical." Sabretooth poured in the chemical. The pain intensified as the chemical dripped into her head, but Nicole was determined to fight it. Magneto realized that Nicole was resisting the effects of the chemical. "Pour in the other vile, Colossus." He said.
Colossus spoke, "But, Magneto, won't that..."
"I don't care what it will do. Just pour it in. It's for her own good."
Colossus did as commanded. He poured in a large vile of a transparent chemical. The teens stood back as he did this, confused. What is that going to do to her? Lance thought. The chemical quickly started seeping into her. Nicole still continued to fight; she wasn't going to give up just yet. "Damn it, girl. Stop fighting it." Magneto commanded, "I need you for this to work."
But what Nicole and Magneto didn't know was that Nicole's anger and determination sparked an extreme force inside Nicole to effectively make use of both chemicals, and unlock the darkness within her.
Nicole couldn't take it anymore, the forces in her body, the chemicals, and the energy from the machine was causing her to just lose it. The pain jolted throughout every nook and cranny inside, and she let out the most unearthly shriek. Lance couldn't see her like that, and the sound of her in so much pain was making him lose it. The entire room, began shaking, Lance was going crazy, and he hadn't physically endured as much pain as Nicole. "
"Magneto. Stop this now or this whole place is comin' down." Lance commanded. .
"Avalanche. This is not the time. The transformation is almost over."
"I don't care. Let her go."
Magneto waved his hand and sent a metal chair flying back at Lance. It grazed him. "Don't start with me."
Nicole was shaking violently, and it was getting stronger the longer she stayed in there.
The fluid inside the tank turned a blood red, and it wasn't from either of the chemicals. Nicole's state of mind was causing it to change. She was spasming out of control, and loud clamors came from Nicole. There was an immense spiral of electric energy spin around Nicole's body. Her eyes were changing to several different colors. The laboratory started to shake again. "Lance, didn't I tell you not to do that." Magneto shouted.
"That's not me, Mags." He answered.
"Well if it's not you then...." Magneto looked over at the tank, and it was filled with smoke. They couldn't even tell if there was a tank, because the smoke had seeped out. All of a sudden, the tank door burst open, creating an explosive sound. The smoke comes billowing out, and there's a dark figure in the mist of it.
The smoke clears up, and they are all able to see that it is Nicole with fiery red hair. She has ancient tribal markings around her eyes. Her clothes are torn to shreds, but they could see more markings on the lower region of her back. Other than that she still looked the same. But as she walked toward her boyfriend, everyone in that room could sense a much different, much darker, much more seductive feel about her. This was not the same Nicole. Nicole reached Lance, "Don't worry, baby." She said putting her finger on his lips, "I'm fine. I took it like a man." She looked into his eyes, and he noticed that her eyes were a bright, fiery red. She tried to kiss him, but she collapsed onto him.
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The next day, the gang, minus the test subjects, was at the boarding house contemplating the events the day before. Magneto couldn't perform any more enhancements for at least another month. Nicole's enhancement blew out the system, and caused Magneto to have to work on it before he enhanced anyone else. But Mystique wanted to look after the girls for at least a day to see how their augmentation took.
Lance was extremely worried that Nicole was at risk of something. He really had feelings for this girl, and didn't want to lose her just yet. He and the other housemates sat in the living room in silence. A knock at the door startled them. Todd went to answer it. It was Mystique.
"Gather around, children." She told them, walking into the house. "I have news. Your friends are fine. The apparatus unleashed energy and forces within the girls that can definitely benefit the Brotherhood in future engagements.".
"So where are they now, Myst?" Pietro asked. "I want to see my girl."
Mystique clapped and said, "Boys and Girls, introducing the new, and improved St. Croix Twins."
Nicole and Claudette came in the door smiling. Mystique continued, "I present to you, Claudette St. Croix AKA Hawkeye." Claudette raised her arms and spread out her new wings, she looked like an earth angel. But everyone could tell that there was a different quality about Claudette as well. She seemed more innocent, more delightful, and more angelic. Mystique spoke again, "And Nicole St. Croix AKA Amazon Queen." Nicole put her hands together and created an orb of energy. "Well girls, I hope you like your new powers. Use them wisely."
Nicole jumped into Lance's arms, "Lance, baby. I've missed you so much." She kissed him fiercely. .
"I've missed you too." He replied. "What happened after you came to? Are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Mr. Magnus and I had a long talk after you guys left. We have an understanding on the turn of events yesterday.... But enough, about that. I'm getting antsy just looking at you, you lil hottie. Let's go upstairs, and do something about it."
"Nicole? Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm sure. Now let's go copulate." Nicole dragged him upstairs. Lance was concerned about Nicole, but he wasn't about to question nookie that he didn't have to beg for.
Claudette stood in front of Pietro, and forced her wings back into her body. "Can I get a hug, Pietro?"
He stood up, hugged her, and gave her a little peck. "So what do you say we got upstairs and do like Lance and Nicole?"
"Pietro, are you serious? I almost died yesterday. And you want to do that? You're too funny."
Pietro was puzzled as well. His girlfriend didn't even want to give the others in room a PDA to make them jealous.
"Oh, yeah. I'd been thinking on the way over and I think we should cut back on that whole PDA thing. As well as the sex."
WHAT?! He thought. She's lost her mind in that thing too, didn't she?
There was definitely something different about the twins, and no one in the house liked it. But the one's who really need to worry about them are the X-Men.