Chapter Eight
Of course, the Mutes were up by about three in the afternoon, moving around. Jim never slept, spending his nights roaming the base and trying to control his nightmares. But at eleven, they were fast asleep, except for maybe Lilian. He wasn't sure when he nightmares started, he had forgotten to count.
He had been so young during his change. It had all happened so quickly, and then he was a murderer at twelve.
Everything just turned red, pieces of flesh and organs everywhere. What else to do but run?
No one understood. No one understood what sleep brought to his mind. Those dreams. Those tortures.
There was always the fear. Those nightmares taking him into a trance deeper than evil. He knew he didn't act it, but he did care for his family. The only family that he had.
He hated her with a passion, but she could remotely relate to him, whatever fright he had in his head. He knew of the number.
191494221
He had tried to figure it out, as if it were a code. No one else knew it was there, the tiny scars on Mimic's tail. He knew what it meant. They would all know what it meant if showed.
A laboratory.
That was all he knew of her. She had been a lab experiment. What tests could they have possible ran on her? The scar had been there since she was very little, because it was almost as black as her skin was.
He never knew her name. No one knew her name, birthdate. But he wanted to. He hated her, wished she would disappear, but there was no chance of that happening. There was nothing he knew about. Yet, she knew everything about him, birthdate, favorite color.
Who was the Mimic?
Perhaps his nightmares were because of her. He wasn't sure. They had always been there, even before Mimic. He wanted to find her now and get answers, but he knew he couldn't keep her in one place for more than ten minutes. She was built for speed.
"Who are you?"
So, the Acolytes were in Vegas. Ah, wouldn't that be the way to get their names on global television. It was definitely a win-win scenario. The Acolytes. Hell, Lilian could take Magneto out with all four legs tied behind her back. Mimic? Ah, she'd take them all out in probably ten minutes. It wasn't as if she was weak.
Maybe they would go after the Acolytes. It was their domain. It was fair. It was safe.
"DAMN YOU!"
The number, what did it mean!? What did it mean? It was a lab number. A serial code?
Why was she here? Why was she defending the little twerp? Lance had ran away. He didn't deserve to come back. It was the rules.
"FUCK YOU TO HELL! WHOEVER YOU FUCKING ARE!"
There was almost no feeling between Mimic and Jim. Most of the time, they fought. Of course, she was more passive, only vicious when provoked. There was just no reason for her, no reason for her to be around. He wanted her dead. He wanted his reign back. They could destroy the Acolytes without her help.
But dammit, so much to know! So much that he wanted to know first. Who was the Mimic? Where did she come from? She and Austin were both killers, but she could take Austin out like nothing at all. Who was the Mimic? She was a killer. She was a fighter. She could make the Acolytes bow to her every whim.
But who was she?
What was she?
A lab experiment. The number. 191494221
He hated her. He wanted her dead.
"DAMMIT!"
The syringe on his nightstand went into his arm. Jim was no drug user, not heroin. It was his name in that plastic. Insomnia. The waking drugs kept him from killing everything in base.
Damn. He could feel that blast long before she charged it. She was powerful. Who was she?
Who was the Mimic?
****************
"Why did you leave?" It was a harsh growl that he knew so well.
Lance wasn't in the bed when he woke, he was in a dark place, lit only by two red lights. The lights faded just enough where he could see the pupils. Then the light faded all together.
"Why did you leave?" She wasn't using Elizabeth's voice.
"Why'd you bring me here?" he growled in response.
"I wanted answers." He knew her speech, tough to understand as it was.
He was quiet. He felt Mimic's tail curl around his arm, then he saw the lights again.
"I wanted a family. Someone promised me a family, a real family..."
Mimic sighed, knowing what he wanted most of all. "A family. Heh. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Did you get a family?"
Lance sighed and shook his head. "Not the one I wanted, but you know, the guys are my family."
He heard her laugh softly. "Then I did the right thing by saving you and your friends. But why are the Acolytes here?"
"Magneto must have told Mystique to get us here. She even gave us money to go. I...knew the consequences, but I couldn't hide."
"No one can hide here. Even if you had evaded Jim, you wouldn't have gotten past me the first night."
"True."
********************
Bobby fell out of his nest, landing on the floor in a light thud. Like nothing ever happened, he was up and bounding for Todd's sleeping figure.
"Wakey wakey!"
Bobby, surprisingly, was such a morning person that it often was treatening to his health. Jim was the only one that it didn't bother, but Bobby had been shot by Austin before, bounding into his room and barking happily. Thank God for Bobby's scales. Austin shot him in his chest, but the only thing it did was knock him backwards. He never went in there again. Elizabeth usually had many things handy to throw at Bobby just in case he hopped into her room. Lilian didn't care if he woke her up or not. She'd often assist in his little pranks. Mark would sleep through anything.
Todd moaned and rolled over, and in return got the blanket pulled off. "Come on! Come on! Breakfast!"
Fred stirred at the mention of breakfast, but other than that, there was nothing. Bobby bounded out of the room and down the corridor, smelling the air for any sign that Mimic had stayed over night. She hardly ever did it, but she did stay underground sometimes, in the darkest room available.
No one had ever seen Mimic in sunlight. Elizabeth had the theory that she'd melt, much like the gremlins on that one movie. She never went into any bright place; she even avoided the streetlamps when possible. Mimic did not like light. The fact that she stayed in Las Vegas seemed to be very funny, considering that it was the brightest place on the planet, but on the contrary, she only went into the city when the Mutes had gotten themselves into some trouble. She hung out around the outer edges of the city, mainly on the construction site. Thank God for slow construction workers.
Bobby was out and running, dashing down the hallway towards the meeting room, where Liz had two boxes of the same cereal on the table, one opened and one not. Bobby sprung for the unopened one, ripping open the top and pouring half the box into his mouth and on the table. She paid no attention to him. This was his favorite way to eat cereal, and, being a growing boy, he had his own box every morning. They made a fortune pawning off the small silver trees that Lilian made.
After downing the box, Bobby groped for the cereal that had fallen on the table, his wings flapping wildly. Elizabeth eyed them suspiciously.
"You think you'll ever be able to use those?" she said, popping one with her finger.
He froze and looked to the side, before nodding. "One day. Mimic's gonna help me to get them grow faster and stuff."
"I wish her luck, then."
"Naaah. She can do it. I'll have wings by the end of this year!"
Jim walked into the room and leaned in the doorway. They heard some commotion in the a few tunnels down, and then a box of Kix floated down the corridor and into his hands. There was no cooked food in the mornings. It was cereal. A box of strawberries and a knife followed Jim as he went back into his room. He always loved fruit in his cereal. Austin and Elizabeth did the shopping, alternating. Elizabeth could usually throw an illusion on the skeleton side of her face.
It had been a flaw of her power. One side was the most beautiful girl a guy could lay eyes on. The other, the side hidden under her red hair, was half a skull, no skin, eyes, or anything. Just bone. She could use her illusion to fix her face, but that was never perminant.
When Bobby was done, there was no cereal on the table, and he was curled in a ball digesting his Kix. Elizabeth was reading her copy of THE GREAT GATSBY, the most hated book in her collection, but she wanted to read it again and find out why she hated it so much.
She had tried to convince Bobby to read some books, but most of the time, it took him about thirty minutes just to read one page. It was very likely that he didnt' finish elementary school, but he was smart enough to pick bits of information off of them. He wasn't a good reader, though. So most of the time she would read to him if he was interested.
The Brotherhood was still asleep, even the speed demon. It was a very disturbing night last night, she knew.
They'd have to get used to it. Seemed like they would be here for a while.
Bobby jumped off of the table and bounded down the hall to Austin's room. Austin, of course, was awake, but he usually did not emerge scruffy or out of place. Austin did lock his door, but Bobby would just sit and talk to him out of his door. Mark really didn't care one way or another. He'd often go out and talk with Bobby while Austin was in the shower or getting dressed.
Bobby stopped outside of the door as usual, tapping on it repeatedly with his tail. He could hear the shower running inside, and he could hear the cool whisps of Mark as he moved towards the door.
"Morning, Dragon."
"Morning, Mark. How's you and Austin doing?"
"KO seems tired and distracted. He's not all on target. Puck is doing rather wonderfully. Slept nice."
"Ah, good. Good, good. Food's on the table. Fruit Loops is what Elizabeth got."
"Fruit Loops sound delicious. Must go talk little Horror out of them."
Mark floated down the hallway, the face appearing in the purple cloud. Bobby growled. No one to play with. Todd was sleeping. The fat guy was sleeping. What about the other dude, the one they were going to kill?
Bobby's eyes sparkled again, and he sprinted down the hallway into the guest bedroom. The door was locked, but Bobby picked it easily with his tail. It slid open, and he poked his head inside. The two boys were sleeping, and he saw the brown-haired boy with a near afro. He crept along the floor and jumped on the headboard of the bed, staring down at the teenager with curiosity.
Then Lance opened his eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bobby fell off the top of the bed and rushed to the corner, hiding his face under his tail. Lance shrieked and fell out of his bed, and the day was initiated...
Of course, the Mutes were up by about three in the afternoon, moving around. Jim never slept, spending his nights roaming the base and trying to control his nightmares. But at eleven, they were fast asleep, except for maybe Lilian. He wasn't sure when he nightmares started, he had forgotten to count.
He had been so young during his change. It had all happened so quickly, and then he was a murderer at twelve.
Everything just turned red, pieces of flesh and organs everywhere. What else to do but run?
No one understood. No one understood what sleep brought to his mind. Those dreams. Those tortures.
There was always the fear. Those nightmares taking him into a trance deeper than evil. He knew he didn't act it, but he did care for his family. The only family that he had.
He hated her with a passion, but she could remotely relate to him, whatever fright he had in his head. He knew of the number.
191494221
He had tried to figure it out, as if it were a code. No one else knew it was there, the tiny scars on Mimic's tail. He knew what it meant. They would all know what it meant if showed.
A laboratory.
That was all he knew of her. She had been a lab experiment. What tests could they have possible ran on her? The scar had been there since she was very little, because it was almost as black as her skin was.
He never knew her name. No one knew her name, birthdate. But he wanted to. He hated her, wished she would disappear, but there was no chance of that happening. There was nothing he knew about. Yet, she knew everything about him, birthdate, favorite color.
Who was the Mimic?
Perhaps his nightmares were because of her. He wasn't sure. They had always been there, even before Mimic. He wanted to find her now and get answers, but he knew he couldn't keep her in one place for more than ten minutes. She was built for speed.
"Who are you?"
So, the Acolytes were in Vegas. Ah, wouldn't that be the way to get their names on global television. It was definitely a win-win scenario. The Acolytes. Hell, Lilian could take Magneto out with all four legs tied behind her back. Mimic? Ah, she'd take them all out in probably ten minutes. It wasn't as if she was weak.
Maybe they would go after the Acolytes. It was their domain. It was fair. It was safe.
"DAMN YOU!"
The number, what did it mean!? What did it mean? It was a lab number. A serial code?
Why was she here? Why was she defending the little twerp? Lance had ran away. He didn't deserve to come back. It was the rules.
"FUCK YOU TO HELL! WHOEVER YOU FUCKING ARE!"
There was almost no feeling between Mimic and Jim. Most of the time, they fought. Of course, she was more passive, only vicious when provoked. There was just no reason for her, no reason for her to be around. He wanted her dead. He wanted his reign back. They could destroy the Acolytes without her help.
But dammit, so much to know! So much that he wanted to know first. Who was the Mimic? Where did she come from? She and Austin were both killers, but she could take Austin out like nothing at all. Who was the Mimic? She was a killer. She was a fighter. She could make the Acolytes bow to her every whim.
But who was she?
What was she?
A lab experiment. The number. 191494221
He hated her. He wanted her dead.
"DAMMIT!"
The syringe on his nightstand went into his arm. Jim was no drug user, not heroin. It was his name in that plastic. Insomnia. The waking drugs kept him from killing everything in base.
Damn. He could feel that blast long before she charged it. She was powerful. Who was she?
Who was the Mimic?
****************
"Why did you leave?" It was a harsh growl that he knew so well.
Lance wasn't in the bed when he woke, he was in a dark place, lit only by two red lights. The lights faded just enough where he could see the pupils. Then the light faded all together.
"Why did you leave?" She wasn't using Elizabeth's voice.
"Why'd you bring me here?" he growled in response.
"I wanted answers." He knew her speech, tough to understand as it was.
He was quiet. He felt Mimic's tail curl around his arm, then he saw the lights again.
"I wanted a family. Someone promised me a family, a real family..."
Mimic sighed, knowing what he wanted most of all. "A family. Heh. Sounds nice, doesn't it? Did you get a family?"
Lance sighed and shook his head. "Not the one I wanted, but you know, the guys are my family."
He heard her laugh softly. "Then I did the right thing by saving you and your friends. But why are the Acolytes here?"
"Magneto must have told Mystique to get us here. She even gave us money to go. I...knew the consequences, but I couldn't hide."
"No one can hide here. Even if you had evaded Jim, you wouldn't have gotten past me the first night."
"True."
********************
Bobby fell out of his nest, landing on the floor in a light thud. Like nothing ever happened, he was up and bounding for Todd's sleeping figure.
"Wakey wakey!"
Bobby, surprisingly, was such a morning person that it often was treatening to his health. Jim was the only one that it didn't bother, but Bobby had been shot by Austin before, bounding into his room and barking happily. Thank God for Bobby's scales. Austin shot him in his chest, but the only thing it did was knock him backwards. He never went in there again. Elizabeth usually had many things handy to throw at Bobby just in case he hopped into her room. Lilian didn't care if he woke her up or not. She'd often assist in his little pranks. Mark would sleep through anything.
Todd moaned and rolled over, and in return got the blanket pulled off. "Come on! Come on! Breakfast!"
Fred stirred at the mention of breakfast, but other than that, there was nothing. Bobby bounded out of the room and down the corridor, smelling the air for any sign that Mimic had stayed over night. She hardly ever did it, but she did stay underground sometimes, in the darkest room available.
No one had ever seen Mimic in sunlight. Elizabeth had the theory that she'd melt, much like the gremlins on that one movie. She never went into any bright place; she even avoided the streetlamps when possible. Mimic did not like light. The fact that she stayed in Las Vegas seemed to be very funny, considering that it was the brightest place on the planet, but on the contrary, she only went into the city when the Mutes had gotten themselves into some trouble. She hung out around the outer edges of the city, mainly on the construction site. Thank God for slow construction workers.
Bobby was out and running, dashing down the hallway towards the meeting room, where Liz had two boxes of the same cereal on the table, one opened and one not. Bobby sprung for the unopened one, ripping open the top and pouring half the box into his mouth and on the table. She paid no attention to him. This was his favorite way to eat cereal, and, being a growing boy, he had his own box every morning. They made a fortune pawning off the small silver trees that Lilian made.
After downing the box, Bobby groped for the cereal that had fallen on the table, his wings flapping wildly. Elizabeth eyed them suspiciously.
"You think you'll ever be able to use those?" she said, popping one with her finger.
He froze and looked to the side, before nodding. "One day. Mimic's gonna help me to get them grow faster and stuff."
"I wish her luck, then."
"Naaah. She can do it. I'll have wings by the end of this year!"
Jim walked into the room and leaned in the doorway. They heard some commotion in the a few tunnels down, and then a box of Kix floated down the corridor and into his hands. There was no cooked food in the mornings. It was cereal. A box of strawberries and a knife followed Jim as he went back into his room. He always loved fruit in his cereal. Austin and Elizabeth did the shopping, alternating. Elizabeth could usually throw an illusion on the skeleton side of her face.
It had been a flaw of her power. One side was the most beautiful girl a guy could lay eyes on. The other, the side hidden under her red hair, was half a skull, no skin, eyes, or anything. Just bone. She could use her illusion to fix her face, but that was never perminant.
When Bobby was done, there was no cereal on the table, and he was curled in a ball digesting his Kix. Elizabeth was reading her copy of THE GREAT GATSBY, the most hated book in her collection, but she wanted to read it again and find out why she hated it so much.
She had tried to convince Bobby to read some books, but most of the time, it took him about thirty minutes just to read one page. It was very likely that he didnt' finish elementary school, but he was smart enough to pick bits of information off of them. He wasn't a good reader, though. So most of the time she would read to him if he was interested.
The Brotherhood was still asleep, even the speed demon. It was a very disturbing night last night, she knew.
They'd have to get used to it. Seemed like they would be here for a while.
Bobby jumped off of the table and bounded down the hall to Austin's room. Austin, of course, was awake, but he usually did not emerge scruffy or out of place. Austin did lock his door, but Bobby would just sit and talk to him out of his door. Mark really didn't care one way or another. He'd often go out and talk with Bobby while Austin was in the shower or getting dressed.
Bobby stopped outside of the door as usual, tapping on it repeatedly with his tail. He could hear the shower running inside, and he could hear the cool whisps of Mark as he moved towards the door.
"Morning, Dragon."
"Morning, Mark. How's you and Austin doing?"
"KO seems tired and distracted. He's not all on target. Puck is doing rather wonderfully. Slept nice."
"Ah, good. Good, good. Food's on the table. Fruit Loops is what Elizabeth got."
"Fruit Loops sound delicious. Must go talk little Horror out of them."
Mark floated down the hallway, the face appearing in the purple cloud. Bobby growled. No one to play with. Todd was sleeping. The fat guy was sleeping. What about the other dude, the one they were going to kill?
Bobby's eyes sparkled again, and he sprinted down the hallway into the guest bedroom. The door was locked, but Bobby picked it easily with his tail. It slid open, and he poked his head inside. The two boys were sleeping, and he saw the brown-haired boy with a near afro. He crept along the floor and jumped on the headboard of the bed, staring down at the teenager with curiosity.
Then Lance opened his eyes.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Bobby fell off the top of the bed and rushed to the corner, hiding his face under his tail. Lance shrieked and fell out of his bed, and the day was initiated...