Queen of Random: Okay, forget what I said about me not being able to write
any more chapters because I am studying for exams. I have been writing
these chapters during study breaks. It's amazing what you can write in
about 30 minutes! Not just stories, mind you. I was supposed to write a 300
- 400 word response to text on a play in 40 minutes. . . but it ended up
being an 800 word essay instead. Yay for me.
Anyway, now that Hank and Jennifer have said those three important little words to each other, I can now let the story move forward. Not in the disgusting way I think some of you are thinking, but on a more time- orientated motion. In other words, I can make time go by in the blink of an eye if I want to - I am the author after all!
Speaking of that, I would just like to say that from now on, this story, 'Beauty and the Beast', will now be diverging from the whole X-Men: Evolution timeline. As time in this story will pass (especially later on, if my plans for this story go ahead), things will be different to what has happened in the series. Evan's leaving the X-Men gave me a starting point from which I could begin the story, but as it has been progressing, it will be different. This is also due to the fact that I have not seen season four of Evo - and there is only so much the episode guides on Beyond Evolution can do (not that I don't like the site, anyways! It is the greatest Evo site out there - and I've seen a few!). So, here's hoping that I will get to see season four, and that I will pass my exams.
Oh, and for all of you Brotherhood fans, don't worry. They'll enter this story soon enough! Until then, you can see what kind of chaos they create in my humour fic 'Role Reversal'. Or, if you are an Acolyte fan, check out 'Trial by Fire'. One thing though, about that story. Do you know how hard it is to think of a fitting title to that chapter with a reference to fire in it?!
Beauty and the Beast
Chapter Fourteen: Reporters and Vandals
Jennifer had indeed taken the bus to get back to the Institute, after a conversation with Kurt that involved a few odd remarks in German as Kurt teleported away.
But she did make it back to the Institute, only to announce that she was going home.
"Home? But why?"
"I have a lot to do Hank," she replied simply. "I have to get on with my plan to challenge my dismissal, don't I?"
Hank nodded. "Yes, but-"
Jennifer silenced him by placing a hand over his mouth. "No buts. Understand?"
Hank nodded, and Jennifer removed her hand from the mutant's mouth. "I understand, but-" Hank saw the look in Jennifer's eyes, and changed his mind. "If you need any help, remember that we are always here. Especially me."
"I know. And for that, I am grateful." Jennifer leaned up and kissed Hank gently, then walked back to her car, which was parked outside the mansion.
*
"I'm sorry, but I cannot give any more interviews today," said Jennifer. She struggled to hold the cordless phone to her ear with her shoulder as she typed yet another email explaining that she could not do any more interviews - especially ones by reporters that were asking very personal questions about her and Hank.
"Well, I'm sorry if you have to get this article printed up by tomorrow, but I have to gather together even more evidence to present to the board, and maybe later the courts. If I fail to do that, you will not have a story to write about later on down the track." Jennifer winced as a blast of foul language hit her ears, but continued typing. "Now, if you cannot be polite, then I will have to say goodbye. Goodbye, and please do not call me again, unless you have something constructive to say." Jennifer hung the phone up, and sighed.
It had been two weeks since Jennifer had confronted Principal Kelly at the press conference, and the public's support had been pretty much even between the two sides, although Kelly did seem to have a slightly larger following. But Jennifer had slowly been gathering support, thanks to the help of Bill, the janitor at Bayville High. His support had helped Jennifer greatly, although he would never reveal his daughter's secret to help Jennifer - not that she had even thought of asking. Without the support of Bill, the students at the Xavier Institute, and, of course, Hank. Jennifer did not know how she could have survived the past two weeks without Hank. He had been visiting her every day (much to the interest of Nora Finklestein, who had finally found out who Jennifer's male visitor was!) and helping her with her case. The other students would also pop in from time to time; Kitty, Amara and Tabitha were the most common visitors, as were Kurt and Amanda, the two who had the greatest understanding of what Hank and Jennifer were going through. Even Ororo had come around to see Jennifer - although the two had never really been close - after visiting her sister, Vi - Evan's mother. Teacher and aunt would trade stories about the boy, and Ororo was surprised to find out that it was Jennifer's concern for Evan that had caused her and Hank to meet.
But now that Jennifer was about to face her biggest challenge - Principal Kelly - she needed all the support she could get. And she knew that there were some people out there who did not like her for her opinions, and that she was in love with a mutant - especially one who looked as Hank did.
The sound of a small explosion in the middle of the night caused Jennifer to wake up abruptly. After a few moments of blindly searching for her glasses - if she was blind during the day without them it was ten times harder at night, where she could not even distinguish colours - she climbed out of bed, and put on her dressing gown. She ran outside, to find that somebody had blown up her letterbox with a cherry bomb. Examining the remains Jennifer muttered, "Well, it's not Tabitha who did this - her work is much better."
"Mutant-lover!" called a male voice out of the darkness.
"You should go live with the freaks!" called another.
Jennifer looked around blindly. "Who's there?! What do you want?!"
Silence. Then - "This is just the beginning, Reed!"
The shadow of a car without its headlights on loomed into view. Jennifer shielded her eyes as the lights snapped on, leaving her like a deer in the headlights. But the car did not hit her, instead, it drove by, and the youths inside used their escape as a last opportunity to attack Jennifer directly.
"Ha! This is what you get for hanging around with those freaks!"
Jennifer managed to leap out of the way as a few waterbombs were flung out of a window at her. They missed, landing at her feet, but Jennifer was still splattered with blue dye.
"We'll be back!"
She looked down at herself, the dye obvious in the light of her porch. "Gross. Just - gross."
Jennifer shook off her night-gown, and went inside to have a shower.
She would check out the rest of the damage in the morning.
*
Jennifer dropped the bucket of white paint on the ground next to her as she surveyed the damage. As well as destroying the letterbox, the vandals had smashed two windows and a light, dented the garage door, toilet-papered the tree in the front garden and the roof, and spray-painted messages on the rest of the house - in blue spray-paint.
"Well, they obviously knew who I was dating," she remarked as she tore down a piece of paper proclaiming Hank as a monster from her fence. "Not the best photo, though."
"Whoa."
Jennifer turned around to find Kitty and a few of the others who had become regulars at what they called the 'Free Ms Reed' campaign.
"What happened?" asked Roberto.
Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "Anti-mutant vandals," she replied, readjusting the straps of her paint-covered overalls. "I should have been expecting that this would happened."
"Don't worry," said Rogue. "It's not your fault."
"You're right." Jennifer smiled at the mutants. "Do you think you could give me a hand?"
"Sure," said Bobby, hitting Jamie, who had also come along. Jamie multiplied, meaning there were now five of him. "Now you've got ten hands," added Bobby.
Jennifer shook her head. "That was not what I meant. How are they going to get up there, for instance?" she asked, pointing.
"No problem!" said Roberto.
He was about to power up, but Jennifer stopped him. "Are you sure that that's a good idea?" she asked.
"You've got a point."
"Why don't we get the others over here?" suggested Kitty. "This could be fun!"
"Oh, man!" groaned Ray. "I still haven't recovered from fixing up the mansion!"
*
"Look out below!"
Everyone who was below Bobby and Roberto on the roof jumped out of the way, just in time to avoid a bucket of white paint that came crashing down from up above. Well, everyone avoided it, except for Ray, who had been listening to his portable CD player. He was immediately splattered with white.
"Uh oh," muttered Jennifer to Jean. "This is not going to be pleasant."
But, amazingly, Ray managed to keep his cool, and instead laughed it off with the rest.
All of the other students who had not arrived in the morning had come by to help out and repair Jennifer's home.
The group was having such a good time, they did not notice a news van pull up across the road.
A reporter ran up to the group, cameras following in her wake. "Ms Reed?" she asked, upon reaching the woman. "What happened?"
Jennifer looked around, to find that Jean and Scott, who had been standing next to her, had gone off to help a Jamie who was stuck in a tree. "Thanks," she muttered. To the reporter she said, "Last night my home was vandalised. They," Jennifer continued, gesturing to the mutants, "are helping me clean up."
"Are they all mutants?"
A small explosion coming from behind the house, followed by Tabitha's voice saying, "Whoops. Sorry," caused Jennifer to laugh.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked in reply.
The reporter laughed, too. "It certainly seems lively around here," she remarked. "Tell me, is your mutant man around?"
It took Jennifer a few seconds to process that question. "Well, I have never thought of Hank as being mine," she replied, laughing. "And, no, he is not here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to help the teens who have been kind enough to offer their assistance today." With that, Jennifer picked up a paintbrush, and walked away.
"And there you have it," said the reporter, looking directly into the camera. "Even under such tragic circumstances, the mutant students have rallied around Jennifer Reed, the human woman they have accepted as one of their own."
Anyway, now that Hank and Jennifer have said those three important little words to each other, I can now let the story move forward. Not in the disgusting way I think some of you are thinking, but on a more time- orientated motion. In other words, I can make time go by in the blink of an eye if I want to - I am the author after all!
Speaking of that, I would just like to say that from now on, this story, 'Beauty and the Beast', will now be diverging from the whole X-Men: Evolution timeline. As time in this story will pass (especially later on, if my plans for this story go ahead), things will be different to what has happened in the series. Evan's leaving the X-Men gave me a starting point from which I could begin the story, but as it has been progressing, it will be different. This is also due to the fact that I have not seen season four of Evo - and there is only so much the episode guides on Beyond Evolution can do (not that I don't like the site, anyways! It is the greatest Evo site out there - and I've seen a few!). So, here's hoping that I will get to see season four, and that I will pass my exams.
Oh, and for all of you Brotherhood fans, don't worry. They'll enter this story soon enough! Until then, you can see what kind of chaos they create in my humour fic 'Role Reversal'. Or, if you are an Acolyte fan, check out 'Trial by Fire'. One thing though, about that story. Do you know how hard it is to think of a fitting title to that chapter with a reference to fire in it?!
Beauty and the Beast
Chapter Fourteen: Reporters and Vandals
Jennifer had indeed taken the bus to get back to the Institute, after a conversation with Kurt that involved a few odd remarks in German as Kurt teleported away.
But she did make it back to the Institute, only to announce that she was going home.
"Home? But why?"
"I have a lot to do Hank," she replied simply. "I have to get on with my plan to challenge my dismissal, don't I?"
Hank nodded. "Yes, but-"
Jennifer silenced him by placing a hand over his mouth. "No buts. Understand?"
Hank nodded, and Jennifer removed her hand from the mutant's mouth. "I understand, but-" Hank saw the look in Jennifer's eyes, and changed his mind. "If you need any help, remember that we are always here. Especially me."
"I know. And for that, I am grateful." Jennifer leaned up and kissed Hank gently, then walked back to her car, which was parked outside the mansion.
*
"I'm sorry, but I cannot give any more interviews today," said Jennifer. She struggled to hold the cordless phone to her ear with her shoulder as she typed yet another email explaining that she could not do any more interviews - especially ones by reporters that were asking very personal questions about her and Hank.
"Well, I'm sorry if you have to get this article printed up by tomorrow, but I have to gather together even more evidence to present to the board, and maybe later the courts. If I fail to do that, you will not have a story to write about later on down the track." Jennifer winced as a blast of foul language hit her ears, but continued typing. "Now, if you cannot be polite, then I will have to say goodbye. Goodbye, and please do not call me again, unless you have something constructive to say." Jennifer hung the phone up, and sighed.
It had been two weeks since Jennifer had confronted Principal Kelly at the press conference, and the public's support had been pretty much even between the two sides, although Kelly did seem to have a slightly larger following. But Jennifer had slowly been gathering support, thanks to the help of Bill, the janitor at Bayville High. His support had helped Jennifer greatly, although he would never reveal his daughter's secret to help Jennifer - not that she had even thought of asking. Without the support of Bill, the students at the Xavier Institute, and, of course, Hank. Jennifer did not know how she could have survived the past two weeks without Hank. He had been visiting her every day (much to the interest of Nora Finklestein, who had finally found out who Jennifer's male visitor was!) and helping her with her case. The other students would also pop in from time to time; Kitty, Amara and Tabitha were the most common visitors, as were Kurt and Amanda, the two who had the greatest understanding of what Hank and Jennifer were going through. Even Ororo had come around to see Jennifer - although the two had never really been close - after visiting her sister, Vi - Evan's mother. Teacher and aunt would trade stories about the boy, and Ororo was surprised to find out that it was Jennifer's concern for Evan that had caused her and Hank to meet.
But now that Jennifer was about to face her biggest challenge - Principal Kelly - she needed all the support she could get. And she knew that there were some people out there who did not like her for her opinions, and that she was in love with a mutant - especially one who looked as Hank did.
The sound of a small explosion in the middle of the night caused Jennifer to wake up abruptly. After a few moments of blindly searching for her glasses - if she was blind during the day without them it was ten times harder at night, where she could not even distinguish colours - she climbed out of bed, and put on her dressing gown. She ran outside, to find that somebody had blown up her letterbox with a cherry bomb. Examining the remains Jennifer muttered, "Well, it's not Tabitha who did this - her work is much better."
"Mutant-lover!" called a male voice out of the darkness.
"You should go live with the freaks!" called another.
Jennifer looked around blindly. "Who's there?! What do you want?!"
Silence. Then - "This is just the beginning, Reed!"
The shadow of a car without its headlights on loomed into view. Jennifer shielded her eyes as the lights snapped on, leaving her like a deer in the headlights. But the car did not hit her, instead, it drove by, and the youths inside used their escape as a last opportunity to attack Jennifer directly.
"Ha! This is what you get for hanging around with those freaks!"
Jennifer managed to leap out of the way as a few waterbombs were flung out of a window at her. They missed, landing at her feet, but Jennifer was still splattered with blue dye.
"We'll be back!"
She looked down at herself, the dye obvious in the light of her porch. "Gross. Just - gross."
Jennifer shook off her night-gown, and went inside to have a shower.
She would check out the rest of the damage in the morning.
*
Jennifer dropped the bucket of white paint on the ground next to her as she surveyed the damage. As well as destroying the letterbox, the vandals had smashed two windows and a light, dented the garage door, toilet-papered the tree in the front garden and the roof, and spray-painted messages on the rest of the house - in blue spray-paint.
"Well, they obviously knew who I was dating," she remarked as she tore down a piece of paper proclaiming Hank as a monster from her fence. "Not the best photo, though."
"Whoa."
Jennifer turned around to find Kitty and a few of the others who had become regulars at what they called the 'Free Ms Reed' campaign.
"What happened?" asked Roberto.
Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "Anti-mutant vandals," she replied, readjusting the straps of her paint-covered overalls. "I should have been expecting that this would happened."
"Don't worry," said Rogue. "It's not your fault."
"You're right." Jennifer smiled at the mutants. "Do you think you could give me a hand?"
"Sure," said Bobby, hitting Jamie, who had also come along. Jamie multiplied, meaning there were now five of him. "Now you've got ten hands," added Bobby.
Jennifer shook her head. "That was not what I meant. How are they going to get up there, for instance?" she asked, pointing.
"No problem!" said Roberto.
He was about to power up, but Jennifer stopped him. "Are you sure that that's a good idea?" she asked.
"You've got a point."
"Why don't we get the others over here?" suggested Kitty. "This could be fun!"
"Oh, man!" groaned Ray. "I still haven't recovered from fixing up the mansion!"
*
"Look out below!"
Everyone who was below Bobby and Roberto on the roof jumped out of the way, just in time to avoid a bucket of white paint that came crashing down from up above. Well, everyone avoided it, except for Ray, who had been listening to his portable CD player. He was immediately splattered with white.
"Uh oh," muttered Jennifer to Jean. "This is not going to be pleasant."
But, amazingly, Ray managed to keep his cool, and instead laughed it off with the rest.
All of the other students who had not arrived in the morning had come by to help out and repair Jennifer's home.
The group was having such a good time, they did not notice a news van pull up across the road.
A reporter ran up to the group, cameras following in her wake. "Ms Reed?" she asked, upon reaching the woman. "What happened?"
Jennifer looked around, to find that Jean and Scott, who had been standing next to her, had gone off to help a Jamie who was stuck in a tree. "Thanks," she muttered. To the reporter she said, "Last night my home was vandalised. They," Jennifer continued, gesturing to the mutants, "are helping me clean up."
"Are they all mutants?"
A small explosion coming from behind the house, followed by Tabitha's voice saying, "Whoops. Sorry," caused Jennifer to laugh.
"Does that answer your question?" she asked in reply.
The reporter laughed, too. "It certainly seems lively around here," she remarked. "Tell me, is your mutant man around?"
It took Jennifer a few seconds to process that question. "Well, I have never thought of Hank as being mine," she replied, laughing. "And, no, he is not here. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to help the teens who have been kind enough to offer their assistance today." With that, Jennifer picked up a paintbrush, and walked away.
"And there you have it," said the reporter, looking directly into the camera. "Even under such tragic circumstances, the mutant students have rallied around Jennifer Reed, the human woman they have accepted as one of their own."