Meet the Inmates

"Hey girl, wake up!"

Angelica opened her eyes and saw a cat girl with short red hair sitting over her. "AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!" Angelica screamed.

"Thanks a lot," Thornn winced. "You think you could scream any louder?"

"Sorry," Angelica sat up. "I've had a rough day. Where am I?" She looked around and realized she was in a white cell of some kind. There was a sink and a toilet but that was about it.

"Hell," Caliban sat in a corner huddled up. There were several other mutants in the cell with her.

"Well that's a cheery thought," Angelica grumbled. "Uh…Hey. I'm Angelica Jones. Who are all you people?"

"I'm Thornn," the cat girl spoke. "That's Caliban and Scatty." She pointed. "We're Morlocks."

"All of you?" Angelica asked.

"No," A girl with purple skin, antennae and huge wings snapped at her. She wore a blue top, blue jeans and had a French accent. "Just that little group. Lot of us are from all over the place. Just call me Gargouille."

"Joanna Cargill," A tall black teen girl with short hair spoke. "I'm extra strong and have steel hard skin."

"Andrew Hamish Graves at your service," A huge teen boy with shaggy brown fur covering him from head to toe nodded his head. "Or at least I was a few weeks ago before I mutated into Bigfoot's second cousin. You may call me Spoor."

"Angelo Espinosa," A teen with baggy gray skin spoke. "They call me Skin." He stretched his skin a bit.

"John Proudstar," A Native American young man in his twenties spoke. "I'm the only adult here. I'm super strong, super tough and super fast."

"But not fast enough," Caliban grumbled.

"How long have you been here?" Angelica asked.

"Some of us a few weeks," Thornn said. "Others a few days. Looks like they're planning some kind of mutant experimentation project. Guess they didn't want to start the fun until they had enough guinea pigs. So what do you do?"

"I just make things heat up," Angelica sighed. "Sometimes. I just figured out how to make fire."

"That could be useful," Thornn said.

"Not another escape plan," Caliban groaned.

"So you would prefer we just sit here and wait for them to dissect us like frogs in Biology class?" Andrew snapped.

"She tried to escape," Caliban pointed to a near comatose girl in the corner. "Look what happened to her."

"They drugged her with something," Thornn sighed. She shook the girl's shoulder. "Come on Jubilee, wake up. We have a new guest here."

"It's no use," Joanna sighed. "They got her real good."

"Well at least she did something!" Thornn snapped. "Wrecked the lab. That's another reason they haven't done anything to us."

"Not yet," Caliban spoke.

"Well you're just a regular ball of sunshine aren't you?" Angelica snapped. "Well at least they didn't get Lina yet."

"Who?" John asked.

"A friend of mine. She's a mutant too," Angelica explained. "Maybe she'll get help."

"Right," Gargouille laughed. "Who'd help us?"

"Then we're just gonna have to find a way to rescue ourselves!" Angelica said. "I hope…" She looked at Scatty. "Is there something wrong with your eyes?"

"Yes and no," Scatty lifted up her bandages to reveal only one eye in the middle of her forehead. "Kind of freaks people out. Then again I'm telepathic so I can find my way around places easily."

"Oh," Angelica remarked.

"Don't worry," Scatty laughed. "You're not offending me. Your thoughts are a lot kinder than most people are. Including my parents. I got dumped on the steps of an orphanage the day I was born."

"At least you weren't sold to a circus," Gargouille grumbled. "But at least there I was raised like a person. Well after my adopted parents kicked out the old ringmaster but that's a long story."

"I suppose living in the circus would be an appropriate environment for people of our minority," Andrew thought. "I must confess that thought had occurred to me. Too bad I was captured before I could entertain that thought."

"Let me take a wild guess," Joanna remarked. "Rich white boy in a good neighborhood, best schools. Parents freaked when you grew your hair long all over your body and kicked you out to rot on the street. Am I right?"

"It might surprise you my dear Joanna but I am also of African American decent," Andrew sniffed. Then he sulked. "But other than that your guess is surprisingly accurate."

"So you were like what? Carlton from the Fresh Prince?" Joanna chuckled.

"What was wrong with him?" Andrew asked. "He was such a delightful character."

"Not to mention had interesting dance moves," John chuckled.

"Well as long as we're trading sob stories what is yours Joanna?" Andrew asked.

"Short version?" Joanna shrugged. "Grew up in the projects of Detroit. Ran with an all-female gang until they learned I was a mutant and then they kicked me out. Actually they sold me out, literally to these jokers. When I get outta here…" She growled.

"I was in a gang too," Angelo sighed. "When I…changed I thought it was the best way out of that life. Boy was I wrong! What about you chica? What's your story? Folks kick you out too?"

"No," Angelica sighed. "I accidentally burned down my school when everybody tried to kill me and my father."

"Say what?" Angelo asked. Angelica told them the whole story. "Man that's rough."

"My father is hurt or worse and it's all my fault," Angelica sniffed.

"Hey don't blame yourself," Thornn patted her on the shoulder. "At least your old man did something. That's more than what most of ours would have done."

"Her parents got blown up trying to take care of her," Scatty indicated Jubilee. "Ironically they took her out of this special school because they thought she'd be safer!"

"You mean the X-men?" Joanna huffed. "Way I see it, she left one group of losers for another!"

"Wait, you mean those guys on TV?" Angelica asked. "Well maybe if they know she's missing, they'll be looking for her!"

"I doubt it," John sighed. "Seems these guys have some kind of machine that blocks mutant signatures or something. Whatever it is, nobody knows we're here."

"You are quite correct Mr. Proudstar," The door opened revealing Dr. Gombell. Dr. Phelps was with him along with several soldiers. "You are all going to be here for a very long time."