CHAPTER 26: THE MAKINGS OF A GOLDEN LIONESS
In the security booth: "Uh, sir? What do we do about the woman, besides give her wide berth?" Max said, trying to keep a straight face. The boss chuckled.
"Nothing, just go down there and see to it that he picks up his knife, what's left of it." The boss said, everyone laughed.
"Oh, let me, let me!" One of the men said enthusiastically. "Do you want me to throw them out of the mall, too? I'd like that, can I? Please….."
"George, you have been spending too much time watching your kid's videos." The boss said smiling.
"Tell me about it." George said, rolling his eyes. The room shared another laugh.
"Sure, and make sure they all leave and tell them not to come back unless they bring their mom or dad." The boss said. "I'm seriously thinking of telling our employers to put restraining orders out on these guys. I'll just mention that in the daily reports. Max get their pictures and profiles and put them together to turn in." Max nodded. "George get some back-up from those already on the floor and kick those bad boys out of the mall. You do not have to be nice." George grinned in pleasure.
"Rightcha'r boss!" He said cheerfully and tossed a jolly salute to the boss.
Bell, after feeling somewhat gratified at the end results of her confrontation with the bullies; continued on her quest. Clothes weren't the only thing she was getting, but she would get those first.
She took the escalator down to the lower level of the mall and then walked past Brenda's Hair Salon. There did not seem to be many customers at the time and it did say they took in Walk-ins. Maybe she would have time to get her hair fixed. Even though it was like Victor's, it felt dry and it needed a little conditioning; probably an after effect of the transformation; and almost dying. So she made a note to herself to come back.
It was the afternoon after school and the mall started to fill up with kids, who without fail noticed and gawked at Bell as she strode thru the mall. Her long legs ate up the ground and she was at her destination in moments. She walked into the Tall and Big Man store and looked around.
A rather tall man walked over to her.
"May I help you ma'am?" He asked politely.
"Yes, I understand you have a section for us big girls as well." Bell said smiling.
"Indeed we do. What are you looking for? The clothes you are wearing are of excellent quality." The man said calmly.
"They certainly are, but at the moment they are all the clothes I have for myself. I would like another change or two. Are you able to help me?" Bell said raising an eyebrow.
"Of course, that's why we are here. If you would come with me." He said gesturing with a flare.
"Lead on, McDuff." Bell said chuckling.
The store salesman led her to the section where the woman's clothes were kept at. Bell was surprised at the selections. She assumed that the selection would be limited. But it was not.
"Do you have many women my size around here?" Bell asked.
"Not quite your size, ma'am." He smiled attentively. "We'll see if we can improvise."
The salesman was quite helpful as Bell looked at dresses, pants, robes. She decided to try on dresses and an elegant gown. It was a bright dark gold. Just her color! It had a cape like accessory, which she loved. She was impressed despite that some of the pants were a bit short that they fit her very well.
When she made her selections, she paid for them in cash which surprised the clerk a little bit.
"We just moved here, and we haven't had time to put up a local bank account here. But I don't expect to pay for future purchases with cash." The salesman took it to mean she would be back. "Yes, I do believe that my fiancé will want to come here as well."
"He's your size?" The salesman asked.
"Bigger." Bell chuckled at the man; who was clearly startled. She had no trouble at all gathering all her boxes and packages together. She cheated a little and used some telekinetics but it didn't show.
She went to the nearest shoe store and found the men's section of the store and bought two comfortable pairs of boots. She then entered some more stores and bought personal effects. She figured that just because her body changed, it was still female. Her bags and packages were multiplying quickly. She got hungry and stopped to get something to eat and just scarfed down another large meal. She seemed to have picked up a fan club along the way; several girls had followed her from store to store. After eating she decided it was time to get her hair done. She knew exactly how much time she had until Erick and his wrecking crew would show up. She was having a good time, even by herself. Well, not quite by her lonesome. The girls were still following. She didn't mind. They were only curious about a woman that was way tall, and very pretty. She kind of liked the girls. She knew that at least one of the girls was going to become a mutant in a year.
She went into Brenda's Hair Salon and found an empty seat and placed her large pile of packages nearby. She doubted that anyone would try to pilfer any of them.
"Now, what can I do for you?" Said one of the hairdressers, coming over to her.
"I would like for you to condition my hair and give me a little trim, especially around my face." Bell explained.
"Of course, it shouldn't take too long if that's all you want done with your hair. Want me to wash it first? Do you want any kind of special shampoo, conditioner?"
"Whatever you think would be best for my hair, will be fine. Something that smells nice would be a must." Bell said smiling. She sat down at the empty station that the hairdresser indicated.
"Of course, a must." The woman picked up a brush and pulled it thru Bell's long hair. She felt it and looked at her intensely. Bell knew she wasn't trying to be intimidating, she was figuring what to style her hair, with her kind of face.
Bell was pleased with the results of her hair. Her hairdresser even managed to make it curly and wavy and it had a wonderful effect on her mood. She decided to get her nails done too.
"I would like my nails, ummm, this color!" She said as she got one of the boxes that had that flowing gown that she just purchased in it. She opened the box and the dresser ohed over it.
"Wow. I think that's gold, and we have that in several shades. Let's see if we can match it with that beautiful gown. A special occasion?" The woman asked.
"Yeah, my fiancé and I are taking on the bad guys." Bells eyes twinkled.
"By all means then, you must get your nails done." The hairdresser agreed. "Nancy is our manicurist. She'll take care of you. Hey, Nancy, get your gold nail polish together this lady is taking on the bad guys."
"Like what is she, a Power Ranger, or something?" Nancy asked.
"Something like that." Bell giggled. She held up her gown. "This is the color I want the polish to be, or as close as you can get it."
"OOOOh, nice. I'll see what I can do. Come on over to my table and have a seat and we'll get started." Bell put her gown away and put it with the rest of her packages and went over to Nancy. She sat down and held out her hands.
"Wow, nice nails. Doesn't look like I have to do much to them." Nancy said.
"Just a wash and polishing wax please." Bell joked and Nancy snickered. Nancy was good at what she did and her mind was on her impending date of that night. Bell was pleased to note that she didn't seem to frighten of her and her size. Nancy was somewhat laid back. The television was playing Oprah Winfield in the background. What she was doing she didn't know right off, she was too relaxed to even care. She looked up and saw that she was talking to Orlando Bloom; he was going on about his new movie. Nancy was thinking she wished that her boyfriend looked like him.
The gold polish was the quick drying kind and with a few coats Bell had matching nails to go with her gown. She grinned; it was going to be a fun filled night. She held out her hands to look at her nails.
"Very nice Nancy, you do good work. It'll go nicely with the make-up I got." Nancy nodded.
"You're wearing that wonderful gown tonight, aren't you?" Nancy smiled.
"Uh huh. It's gonna be a night to remember." Her eyes almost glowed white, but not quite, she was getting pretty good in controlling her powers. As far as Nancy was concerned Bell was larger then usual, but not strangely so.
After giving Nancy a good tip and paying for her hairdo and nails, Bell gathered her packages to head for home.
After reaching a respectable distance from the mall with no witnesses about; she gathered up her packages in a levitating bundle and with a laugh; she streaked down the highway back towards the school. She was going so fast no one could have seen the strange woman and her tagalong bundle. She contacted Xavier and asked where she was going to be staying. He gave her directions and with hardly any time passing, she was there.
She checked the room and started putting her things away. She hung up her gown giving it a chance to lose its wrinkles. She looked at herself in the mirror. She was definitely going to have to fix her make-up. She figured that getting one of the teenage girls to help her with it.
Bell laughed and chortled with glee. Everything was going to be all right, if the events followed her foresight. She was getting a bit tired and she thought a quick catnap would be just what she needed. With her new found powers, she gave herself a self induced wakeup call.
A half hour later, Victor came into the room that had been assigned to him and found Bell curled up in a catlike ball asleep. He sighed, now that looked tempting. But six o'clock was coming up fast and if he fell asleep now, he'd be out for hours. Victor noticed all the boxes and bags strewed all over the room. So Bell had been spending his money pretty good. He noticed the names of the stores on the bags and boxes. Oh, good they have a Tall and Big Man store in the area. He noticed a pleasant scent coming off of Bell. She had her hair done. She sat up almost instantly, and it startled him.
"I'm sorry; did I wake you, Babe?" Victor apologized.
"No, I had set myself a timer in my head, and I woke myself. Hey, did you and your brother get those booby traps set up?" She grinned, she knew he had.
"Yep. If they try to go to certain areas of the school, they will be surprised. We made sure that they are not too aggressive. This is after all a school." He paused. "Raven says that Marie is really nervous about all of this. She still feels it's her fault." He sighed. "I wish she didn't feel that way. Erick certainly has a lot to answer for."
"Don't worry, Victor. Everything will turn out all right. Just stay away from him if you can. Leave that bitter old goat to me, Okay? I got something special in mind for him. Just you wait. Maybe he can be rehabilitated. Going to try my best, and my best now, is very good." Bell's eyes glowed white. She quickly got off the bed and started grabbing some of her new stuff. "You better get your work clothes from the trunk of the monster. Things are gonna get messy tonight. I'm going to visit some girls about a new look for me. What do you think my codename should be? Copycat? Duplicat? Duplicator? Power PAC? Quick, pick one! What do you think?" Victor just looked at her and grinned.
"Well, with your enhanced powers I'm sure any one of those would be good for you. It's a tough decision and maybe we should both think about it." She smiled at him. She already knew which one she would go with, but if he wanted to think and talk it over, she was all for that.
"So, when are we getting married?" Bell asked, out of the blue. It almost floored him. He was only thinking quietly about that.
"Well, officially, I'm still married to Raven. How about we wait until its official and discuss it after the raid tonight." Victor said smiling meekly.
"Sounds like a date. We'll talk it over meat lover's pizza," Bell snickered. "After that, it's Graydon's speech…. of course." Bell smiled. She walked out of the room and in passing Victor she gave him a gentle pat on the face.
"Hey James, how's it going?" She said when entering the hallway.
"Pretty good, Bell….And with yourself?"
"Great! I'm just going to visit some of the girls. I'm getting ready for tonight festivities. See ya later." Bell said cheerfully. Logan watched her walk down the hall to where the girls' dorm was located. He walked into the room where he knew Vic to be. He was kind of surprised at Vic's demeanor. He looked kind of shell-shocked.
"Hey Vic, are you alright?" Logan asked his big brother.
"No, actually I'm not. I think I'm in a lot of trouble." Vic said carefully.
"What kind of trouble?" Logan asked, but he did have somewhat of an idea.
"Woman kind of trouble, I think I bit off more then I can chew." Vic said.
"You're not the only one, bro." Logan said with a grimace.
"The beautiful Weather Witch I take it… has stolen your heart." Vic said.
"How did you know?"
"It was kind of obvious. I think she likes you too. You need to take your time though, but with Bell, I think it was almost instantaneous; even before her change." He sighed. "I'm doomed." Victor moaned. "Simply…. doomed."
"Me too, big brother, me too." And they both grinned.
"I need to get some stuff out of the car, I'll be back shortly." Vic announced.
"Alright, I'll check on Marie and see how she's doing." Logan said.
"Hey, if that Cajun makes any moves on her that isn't prudent, will you put him in his place?" Vic asked.
"It would be my pleasure. But I think she's safe from Remy's attention for a while, or at least until he figures out how to get around her skin." Logan grinned.
"Yeah, poor kid, what a lousy mutation. I hope she learns how to control it. Well, it won't matter to me. I intend to protect her until death…if need be."
"Me too. I liked her immediately. She's something special alright. It's a real pity that you didn't get a chance to raise her yourself. She turned out very nice though." Logan said smiling.
"Yeah, she sure did, James. So how did you meet her anyway? I never did bother to ask."
"Well, I found her in a bar in Laughlin City after one of my fights. I actually smelled her before I saw her up close. She kind of took my breath away before I even knew she was related to me." Logan said softly. I guess her resemblance to Mother had something to do with it. It's not as strong as with Jeanne and Rose's but it's strong nonetheless." Logan said.
"Yeah, I kind of noticed that the good doctor looks a lot like Rose. She even smells like her. Have you told her yet?"
"No, not really, I don't want to scare her too much." Both brothers chuckled.
"You know, Bell. We are real pleased that you like want our help." Jubilee went on. "That's really a nice gown. And one of my favorite colors too." She smiled at Bell.
"I should have spent more time with my teenage friends then studying, but I was somewhat of a bookworm growing up. The accident changed me pretty good. I lost an awful lot of knowledge and memory from the damaged done to me by that accident." Bell sighed.
"Hey, Kelly will get his someday, you'll see!" Kitty said, sneering a little. The girls of the dorm all agreed. They had gathered in Kitty's room to hover over Bell and her make-up project. They all agreed that Bell's hair didn't need tampering with, but her make-up needed something.
After about 15 minutes of maneuvering and brushing and rubbing, Bell was finished. "Very nice, Bell." Jubilee said, and the other girls chimed in with their affirmatives.
"If you will give me a few minutes in the bathroom, I'll finish up with my special look." Bell picked up her gown and her new boots and left to go into the girls bathroom. The girls giggled and talked and compared notes on Bell's new appearance.
Bell came back into the room and the girls stopped their talking. They looked at her with eyes wide and mouths agape. Bell was golden colored from head to toe. The gown had a beautiful thirties flowing look with a sheer layer of cloth from shoulders to floor. Her boots were also a bright gold color and peeked from under the hem slightly. It almost looked as if she had been drenched in golden light.
"Well, I'm all set to go to war with the Brotherhood. What do ya think?" She could hear what they thought, and she was pleased at their reactions. Kitty thought that Bell looked like a giant version of Galadriel. Jubilee was thinking that Bell had been dipped in gold and polished and lighted carefully by an artist. They both thought that this outfit was a little odd for wearing to a war. "But since most of them were males, it just might do the trick." Everyone gasped. "Ooops, did I say that out loud?" Asked Jubilee. "Sorry Bell, I mean ...I didn't mean to say…." Bell laughed.
"That's okay, Jubilee. You're right; I want the males of the Brotherhood distracted. Do you think this will do it?"
"Hell, if Sabretooth himself…. would see you like that…. he'd probably faint dead away." Kitty said.
"That's an interesting image." Bell said, smiling broadly. "Oh, Victor…!" Bell said walking out of the room. The girls, curious, followed her. Victor had heard her call for him and he walked down the hall. He stopped dead in his tracks. Bell had come to a window and the fading light of the sun had caught her just right.
"The girls say that if Sabretooth saw me, that he himself would faint dead away. Well, would you agree with that?" Victor's mouth dropped open and his breath came in short bursts; his throat tightened up uncomfortably. He swallowed convulsively.
"Oh, god!" Victor had a hard time speaking. It had come out almost a squeak. Logan dashed around the corner when he thought he smelled and heard Vic in trouble. He wasn't too far off the mark. He came to a screeching halt himself when he saw Bell.
"Oh, god!" Logan said almost in a whisper.
"Girls, I think it is safe to assume that my war outfit is ready for duty." Bell grinned. The girls tittered gaily.