Author's Note: At long last I have finally gotten Microsoft Word up and
running again, no more spelling errors! Although the italicized thoughts
don't seem to be showing up in italics. Oh well I trust you all will be
able to decipher what's a thought and what isn't.
Disclaimer: I refuse to do this again!
The Damned, Episode 1 Chapter 11: The Good, The Bad, The Hormones
Marie stripped down to her underwear and began to float. The river provided the freedom she needed from her stressful household. Her parents weren't speaking, nor were they speaking to Erik. Wanda, Pietro, and Dominic wouldn't say much, they were too confused and angry to say anything remotely coherent and Marie was trying to stay out of the way.
She closed her eyes, wishing she could just let the river take her where it wanted to go but alas she had to stay in Mississippi with her family and face the music. She couldn't just run away from her problems, she had to get through them.
"Hey." A quiet voice murmured.
She opened her eyes and looked into the eyes of a man she had never seen before.
"Hello my Rogue."
Rogue?
"I'm here to offer you sanctuary. I have a haven for kids like you, you could get away from your problems, they aren't yours to solve."
Marie looked into the balding man's eyes and realized he was serious. She stood, letting the water lap around her waste. "No, Ah can't."
This answer seemed displeasing to the older man. He frowned, "Very well," He turned around and a second man appeared, "Cyclops, be rid of her."
Before Marie could open her mouth to scream a flash of red consumed her vision. She could hear only the laughs of the older man.
* * *
BEEP!
She awoke; sweat forming a puddle under her body. With disgust she realized some of that puddle was not sweat at all but her own urine. She quickly ran down the hall to the nearest bathroom and threw herself, without clothing, into the bathtub. She shuddered, wondering who the people in her dream were.
Marie felt her muscles release their tension. She sighed, who cared? Deciphering the dreams wouldn't help her regain her sanity.
* * *
"Irene?" a soft voice called.
Irene was sitting on the roof of her home, the one place she thought no one would think to look for her. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and her face rested on her knees. "What?" she asked sourly, recognizing Raven's voice.
Raven gathered her courage, "I wanted to talk."
Irene snorted, "Why? So you can convince me that other foolish things you've done were really in my own best interest?"
Raven sat next to Irene and Irene looked away. Raven sighed, "You know for the more rational of the two of us you aren't being very rational."
The comment had the effect Raven intended it to. Irene's head snapped up and angry eyes picked Raven's face apart. "You want me to be rational! Fine what if I left you today?! What if I took Marie with me! That would be the only rational thing left to do wouldn't it!" Irene stood, "No, maybe I should kick the two of you out, after all this is my house and the two of you can have the life you've always dreamed of."
Raven continued to sit, "Irene is that what you really think? That I want Erik?"
Irene didn't say anything.
"Before I met you I was involved with Erik, you know that, I know that, hell I don't think there's anyone who didn't know. But believe me what I say you are the only one for me. What Erik and I had was nothing; it wasn't anywhere close to love. I love you more than anyone I've ever known."
Irene avoided her gaze, "You mean that?"
Raven stood, briefly wondering how Irene could balance on the Victorian roof so easily. She placed her arms around Irene in a hug. "Look at me." Irene did. "I know we've had our problems lately but I promise we'll work through them, that is, if you'll let me stay."
Irene smiled sheepishly and nodded, "Alright but you have to stop taking stupid risks."
Raven smiled and kissed Irene deeply.
* * *
Erik looked down at the ground in faint amusement; he was flying. It wasn't a natural part of his mutant power but he found that by using his powers to manipulate the magnetic forces around him he could force his body into the air. It took practice but it seemed to be getting easier with every passing day. These flights were all that kept him grounded. Up in the air it was as if all of his problems went away, his uncertainty surrounding mutant/human relations, his relationships (business and personal), and his children.
He slowly made his decent and frowned. Through several talks with Irene, he had looked into the possible futures of all of the children. It was this knowledge that had possessed him to adopt Dominic and it was this knowledge that would ultimately determine whether or not his life goals were successful.
He ground his teeth together, realizing overcoming him, he needed to distance himself from all that was distracting him from achieving his goals. If it meant dropping whatever it was that he and Raven had, then so be it. Glaring at the sunny sky he made his decision, he would do everything he could from that moment on to make those possible futures a reality, no matter what the cost.
* * *
Mississippi, 1994
"Marie aren't you the least bit excited?" Mica squawked in her ear.
Marie held the phone to her ear and scowled at her reflection. It was early morning and she was in the bathroom attempting to get dressed but her hair was not working with her. "Why should Ah be excited Mica?"
Mica sat on her fuzzy pink bed, already dressed, "Marie it's our first day of high school!"
"Maybe so but its still school, where they try to make us learn."
Mica rolled her eyes, "Whatever happened to the girl that couldn't absorb enough information?"
"Ah still love the info Mica but they teach us the dumbest stuff, stuff Ah figured out on mah own years ago."
"Sure, sure." She paused, "Hey did, um, Dominic say if he was walking to school with us?"
Marie made eye contact with her reflection as if to tell it that Mica had flipped. "Mica you guys aren't even going out anymore, what difference does it make?"
"But Marie you know it would look so much better for us if we had some guy walk with us to school, we'd be more popular."
Marie laughed, "We're freshmen, Ah'm not sure we're allowed to be popular." She frowned as her hair refused to follow her orders, "Mica Ah'll meet ya ta walk ta school but Ah really gotta fix mah hair."
"Alright, I suppose I should eat breakfast anyway."
"Bye." They said in unison.
After ten minutes of yanking at her curls, Marie was convinced no one would notice the tangles and left the bathroom.
"Geez its about time." Wanda snapped.
Marie rolled her eyes, "Great ta see ya too?"
"Whatever," Wanda pushed passed her to get to the bathroom.
The years hadn't been as kind to Marie's relationship with Wanda as they had been with Dominic. Wanda still refused to open up to Marie on any level of friendship. Marie suspected that had something to do with the girl's loyalty to her father but she wasn't exactly sure. All Marie knew was that Wanda didn't seem to want friends she chose to just hang out with Marie from time to time, only to get under her skin.
Marie walked to her room and treaded through her sea of clothing and dirt. She found what she wanted on her bed, her Walkman and Greenday cassette. After smiling at her Kurt Cobain memorial poster she left her room only to run into Dominic in the hall.
"Hey Marie I was gonna ask if you wanted breakfast or something."
"No thanks Dom, Ah think Ah'll just hold out until lunch."
He shrugged, "Well I already ate but I thought I'd ask."
She nodded and began to climb down the staircase. "Dom," She called back, "Are ya walkin' ta school with me today or not?"
He climbed down after her, "Sure."
As they reached the front door she warned him, "Mica's walkin' with us."
He cringed and Marie knew why. The reason he had broken up with Mica, a record three times, was that she had started to annoy him. According to Dominic she was fun to hang out with, and make out with, but she just didn't understand him. Eventually he just got tired of trying to explain himself to her and just called it quits.
"What do you wanna bet she'll flirt wit' ya?"
"I hope not."
"Marie are you really going to wear that to school!?" Irene called from the top of the stairs.
It was Marie's turn to cringe. "Yes." With that she left, Dominic in tow.
Irene shook her head in frustration. Marie's developing sense of style had to be Dominic's influence. Out of everyone in the house they were the closest and shared everything, from taste in music to reading material. Irene just knew that Marie's new "punk image" as Irene referred to it, was because of Dominic.
The woman was snapped out of her thoughts by a gust of air passing by. "Pietro walk in the house!"
Pietro heard and stopped abruptly. He loved his mutant ability. They had manifested over the summer accompanied by puberty. "Sorry," he croaked.
Irene tried not to laugh at his cracking voice, not wanted to make the boy self-conscious. "Pietro there is no need to run everywhere, you're sure to give yourself a heart attack."
The boy smiled charmingly, "I promise to work on controlling my urges."
Irene descended the stairs, "You had better, do you remember the conversation we had?"
Pietro nodded, "Don't let anyone know about my mutant powers, got it."
Irene nodded, "Good, now get to school."
* * *
Wanda scowled to herself as her dad dropped her off at school. She hated school more than anything in the world, she could see why some people chose to drop out rather than graduate but knowing her father this was not an option.
"Thanks for the ride Dad."
"No problem Wanda, have a good first day of high school."
Wanda hopped out and muttered, "Right."
* * *
Marie was standing with her group of friends, which included Dominic and Mica, just talking before school started. Mica couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the way Marie could pull of just about any style. Today Marie was wearing tight light blue jeans with chunks of material missing. Under these jeans were a pair of black tights. Her top was a black turtleneck accented by a silver skull necklace with a matching bracelet. If Mica had known that the jewelry was a gift from Dominic she surely would have attacked her friend. Marie had made the decision not to tell Mica even though it was all very innocent; Dominic had bought the bracelet and necklace for her on a trip to New York with their parents. He'd only done it because Marie had been feeling incredibly depressed but Marie doubted Mica would see it that way.
"Hey there's Wanda," Mica told the group, "Wanda! Over here!"
Wanda walked up to them with the scowl that was her face. "What." It wasn't a real question, just a curt answer.
A lot of the time the group had no idea why they talked to her, she was always rude, never respected anyone but herself, and acted like they were beneath her.
"Um, hey Wanda," Dominic said nervously.
She rolled her eyes and Dominic noticed the heavy make up she was wearing. She had started her makeup craze earlier that summer but Dominic had to admit it had never been as bad as it was at that very moment. Her face was buried under a layer of blush and her eyelids looked as though they could be suffering under the mountains of scarlet glob thrown on them.
"Love the makeup," Carly, one of the people in the group, told her admiringly.
Dominic shook his head; sometimes he didn't understand girls.
"Thanks," Wanda replied flatly.
Marie looked at Wanda and then at her watch, "Um, hey Ah think ah should go try ta find mah homeroom now." Anything to get away from Wanda.
"What's your homeroom?" Wanda asked.
"Room 812."
A slow deliberate smile stretched across Wanda's face, "I'm in the same room, I'll walk with you."
Marie began to sweat, there was no way out of this one without looking like a complete jerk, "Alright." She forced a smile, "Lets go."
* * *
Dominic watched in pity as his good friend was forced to leave with Wanda The Witch, as they secretly called her.
"Hey Dom," Carly snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Hm?" He looked at her, "Please don't call me Dom, I hate that nickname."
"Okay," Carly said confused, she was sure she'd heard Marie use it a few times, "Mica was asking if you wanted to meet up at the Pizza Palace after school."
Not really. Dominic looked into Mica's expectant eyes. Crap. "Sure."
Mica smiled sweetly, "Good I'll tell Marie at lunch and we'll meet you there!"
RRRIIINGG!
"Is it already eight?" Carly asked in surprise.
Dominic nodded, "Yup and I have to get to room 516, on the other side of the school, so I'll see you two later." Dominic noticed Carly's, not so subtly, push Mica after him.
"Dom, I'm going to 515, I'll go with you."
Just great. "Great!" Just don't call me Dom.
* * *
"What'll it be ya'll?"
Dominic looked at the waitress. "Cheese."
Pietro wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Dude you are so boring." Turning on his megawatt smile he looked at the waitress, "Pepperoni."
"Are ya'll sure?" The waitress asked.
The six teenagers nodded and the waitress walked off.
Dominic looked around the table in bewilderment. Only he, Marie, Mica, and Carly were supposed to have met up at the Palace. He didn't know how but Marie had ended up not coming with them and Pietro and two of his friends had joined.
"So Pietro," Friend number one started, "tell Mica what happened with Marie in Bio."
"Craig that's not really necessary." Pietro looked noticeably uncomfortable.
"What happened in bio," Mica asked warily.
"Well," Friend number 2 continued, "Apparently some guy was coming onto her- "
"Wait," Carly said, "What guy?"
Craig shrugged, "Don't know, some red haired guy."
"Anyway," Friend number two said, "I guess he's known her as long as the rest of us because he asked her why she always had those gloves on and asked if she would take them off so he could see her pretty little hands."
"You guys," Pietro said warningly.
Dominic was completely alert.
"Pietro I'm sure that as Marie's best friend, Mica has the right to know."
"Todd it doesn't matter," Pietro insisted.
"What happened?" Mica demanded.
Craig continued for Todd, "She told him it was a fashion statement and that he should buzz off and he got really angry and started yelling, saying that she was a freakin' mutie and that's why she had to wear the gloves, to hide a gross disfigurement," Craig and Todd both laughed at this.
Mica and Dominic both felt the floor drop out from under them. They both knew that Marie was hiding her scars, although Dominic had never seen them, and the fact that the boy had come so close to figuring out why she wore the gloves must have shaken her badly.
"Um, what did Marie say to that?" Carly asked.
Pietro cut in for his friends, "That's the weird part, usually she'd come back with some witty remark but she just looked at him in surprise." Pietro knew that Mica and Dominic could probably make sense of it but he didn't ask for details, not in front of his friends.
Switching topics quickly, Carly asked Mica about her classes.
"They're decent," Mica said, "Really boring but I get five out of seven classes with Dominic so its all good."
Dominic forced a smile. Yeah, good for her.
After an hour Mica looked at her watch, "Oh, I've got to get home, my mom wanted me to help her clean up the house." She stood up and looked at Dominic, "Do you want to walk me home?"
Do I have a choice? "Sure." He looked back at the table, "See you guys tomorrow."
* * *
Mica scrubbed the tiled floors of her kitchen with ease. She was so used to being her mother's helper that she was sure she could do these chores with her eyes glued shut.
"Mica honey!"
"Yeah Mom?"
"Can you come here for second?"
Mica followed the sound of her mother's voice, it led her to the living room. "Yeah mom?"
Her mom frowned, "Do you think we should rearrange the living room furniture?"
Mica gave her mom a look of insanity, "Mom you're acting like we're having the President over for dinner, its just Aunt Augusta."
"Yeah but honey they're moving down here, we should at least make them feel welcome." She sighed, "If we had a big house like that friend of yours, Marie, I'm sure we could pull it off better."
"Mom the furniture is fine, we just need to clean." Mica began to walk back to the kitchen.
"Yeah well I think I'll at least rearrange the backyard furniture a little."
* * *
"Marie," Dominic knocked on her door softly.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come in?"
"Dom, what did Ah tell ya about that question?"
"May I come in?"
"Sure."
The first thing Dominic noticed upon entering her room was that it was clean. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Marie muttered, lying on her bed, staring out the window.
"Okay lets take another approach," He got closer to Marie's bed, "I heard what happened, do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Marie told him.
Dominic looked at the bare floor, "Well you cleaned your room so there's gotta be something wrong."
"Can't a person just clean her room?"
"A person, yes. You, no."
"Shut up Dom."
He took a chance and ran a finger up her back. She squealed, "That tickles." She turned around to look at him.
He smiled proudly, "Will you stop being so damn stubborn and just talk to me already?"
Marie looked at him and it all came pouring out, "I was just shaken up that Daniel could come so close to the truth and it got me thinking about my gross scars and how he would react if he could actually see them."
Dominic nodded in understanding, "Hey guys say stupid things, end of story. Don't worry about Daniel, he's not that bright anyway."
"Thanks Dom, just needed to tell that to someone."
"No prob." He made her scoot over so he could sit comfortably on her bed.
"So what's with ya and Mica?"
Dominic laughed, "Did she call you as soon as she got home?"
Marie laughed, "Yeah."
"So then you know that we'll be dating once again?" Dominic looked at Marie.
"Yup."
"Good."
* * *
That night at dinner the only topic being discussed was one of mutants.
"So what do you think about what that Xavier guy is trying to do?" Pietro asked.
"Its wrong," Erik stated.
"Why?" Wanda asked.
"You see," Raven said, "he believes that mutants should come to his school to learn how to use their powers to help those that want them dead."
"Why?" Marie asked.
"I served with him Marie and let me tell you, he's one of the most twisted human beings I've ever met." Erik took a bite of his steak, "And let me tell you its harder than hell to try to figure that man out and now he's got five young mutants working for him, he's dangerous."
Dominic sipped his soup in silence; the mutant issue didn't interest him much. It didn't concern him in the slightest.
Irene sipped her tea and spoke, "Have you given the children the great news?"
"What news?" Pietro asked.
"Well," Raven started, "Since you have come so far in your training, we feel that its about time you all started coming with Erik and I on missions."
Dominic wasn't sure that he was hearing things correctly; they had long since been told what it was that Raven and Erik did on these missions but, "Why?"
"Dominic, what have we been telling you all these years?" Erik asked.
"That those who are able and willing to fight the war for mutant preservation should do all in their power to do so." He recited perfectly.
"But Dominic and Ah aren't mutants," Marie protested.
Raven smiled, "Do you think I would have spent my time training students that couldn't defend themselves without mutant powers?"
Knowing her mother's perfectionism, Marie shook her head, "But won't it be dangerous?"
"That's why you aren't going to be completely in the field," Erik explained, "we decided to train you on a few missions then, if you're good, let you get more hands on."
Pietro nodded eagerly and even Wanda looked excitedly. Marie and Dominic exchanged glances.
"So I need you all home to be fitted right after school tomorrow," Irene was saying.
"Fitted for what?" Wanda asked warily.
"You'll see."
* * *
"Oh mah gosh, hurry up!"
"I'm trying to," as Dominic chased Marie down the street he realized just how much the training had helped him. Before he'd moved to Mississippi he doubted he could run a yard without panting, now he was running for blocks at a time without getting tired.
"Dominic we're already late to meet Mica and she really wants us to meet her cousin!"
"So?"
Marie stopped, finally out of breath, "So she says its her closest cousin and Ah think that as her best friend and her boyfriend we should be nice ta him."
"Fine, fine, but lets just walk from here."
Marie nodded, not that it made much of a difference, they were already close to their meeting spot, in fact she could make out the shapes of two teenagers in the distance.
* * *
Mica looked her cousin over once more, trying to make sure he was presentable.
Her cousin rolled his eyes, "Mica stop tryin' ta find somethin' wrong with meh."
Mica giggled, "Sorry I just really want nothing to go wrong. Dominic and Marie are the two most important people in my life."
Her cousin mock frowned, "Hey what about meh?"
"You two," Mica looked up, "Hey there they are!" She waved and saw her friends sprint towards her.
"Ah win!" Marie told Dominic.
"No way!" Dominic exclaimed, "We so tied!"
Mica turned towards her cousin, "These lunatics are my closest friends, Marie and Dominic."
Her cousin was not listening; he was in a daze. Looking her up and down he found heaven; lovely curves, soft-looking skin, wildly curly hair fell around her shoulders only to be set off by those emerald green eyes! He felt his heart skip a beat then stop. He could barely hear his cousin introduce him to her friends.
"Marie, Dominic, this is my cousin Cody Robbins."
* * *
Cody grabbed a lunch tray and searched the cafeteria for a place to sit. He sighed, he didn't have the same lunch hour as his cousin, or her friends, so there really wasn't anyone that he knew. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a girl sitting by herself reading, figuring she could use some company he walked over to her.
"Hey, Ah'm new, can Ah sit here?"
The girl looked up at him, annoyance etched into the deep features on her face, "Why?"
Cody was taken aback but covered smoothly, "Ah can't turn down the chance to sit and eat with someone as charming as yourself."
The girl caught the sarcasm in Cody's voice, "Fine, sit but I'm not planning on entertaining you."
Cody sat, "Fine."
As the girl turned back to her book Cody noticed the heavy scarlet makeup accented by her scarlet clothing.
"So, what's your name?" Cody asked.
The girl didn't even look at him, "Wanda."
Cody nodded, "So you like 1984?"
Wanda shrugged, "Yeah, the books okay so far."
Cody feigned shock, "Okay! That's it? Ah read it and fell in love with Orwell."
Wanda looked at him as she replied, "I'm not really into these kind of books but this girl I live with is and told me I should read it."
"Well whoever you live with should smack you around until you get the point of that book. Ah mean, have ya read Brave New World?"
Ms. Scarlet, as Cody referred to her in his head, nodded her head, "Liked that book better."
"Figures."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Cody picked at his food a little, taking a small bite of what was supposed to be mashed potatoes. "Ah didn't mean anything really. Its just common foh people to like Brave New World better, its simpler."
Cody was sure that if Wanda wasn't wearing so much makeup he would have seen her face turn red, "Are you calling me simple?"
He answered calmly, "No, Ah said that the book was more simple. If ya choose ta get defensive that's yo problem."
Wanda narrowed her eyes, "I am not defensive."
"That sure sounds like something someone would say if they were defensive."
She reached across the table and picked up his bowl of mashed potatoes. Before Cody could say anything he found himself wearing his food. Smiling contently, Wanda got up and walked away.
* * *
"So did ya hear what Wanda did ta Cody?"
Marie sat cross legged on the floor of Carly's bedroom looking through CDs, "No, an' please tell meh it didn't involve sacrificing small animals."
Carly sat next to her, "No, and you have to stop with that twisted sense of humor." She shook her head, "Anyway, apparently Cody said some stuff to really piss her off and she spilled his food all over him."
Marie looked at her friend, "Well that's our Wanda foh ya, makin' lotsa new friends."
Carly giggled, "Yeah." Her eyes went wide, "Oh and guess what?"
"What?"
"Mica said that she thinks Dominic is going to ask her to the dance."
Marie frowned, "There's a dance coming up?"
"Um yeah, where have you been? They've only been talking about it all over school. I guess its some kind of welcome back dance."
Marie looked at Carly, "Are you gonna go?"
Carly shrugged, "Maybe, if someone asks me. What about you?"
"Naw, dances ain't mah thing."
"Oh, how do you like this group?"
Marie looked at the CD in Carly's hands, "Not really a fan."
"Well anyway, we really need to get dates to this dance because I am not going to go stag."
"Who says we have ta go?"
"No one really but I'm tired to Mica and Dominic having all the fun." Carly rested her head against the wall, "Where are they anyway?"
"Probably at mah house making googly eyes at each othah."
"Yeah," Carly smiled, " 'Oh Dominic'" She put on a much lighter voice, " 'Hold me, I can't live without you!'"
Marie's eyes lit up and her voice went deeper, " 'Mica my love all I want is to be your boytoy, please be mine!'"
Both girls laughed hysterically before they felt the floor move.
"What the hell was that?" Carly asked, shocked.
* * *
That night at dinner, Dominic was silent. To Erik he seemed almost bashful.
"Dominic," Erik said, "Is everything alright?"
Dominic mumbled, "Just fine."
Erik seemed content to let that go and resumed talking politics with Raven and Irene.
Dominic felt a kick under the table and looked up into Marie's waiting eyes. She shrugged and raised an eyebrow. Dominic shook his head, letting her know that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Alright, Wanda its your turn to clear the table." Irene's voice punctured Dominic's thoughts.
Wanda groaned, "Why can't Pietro do it? He has the super speed."
Pietro grinned at his twin, "Jealous?"
She stuck out her tongue, "As if."
Erik sighed, "Wanda please just be complacent."
She rolled her eyes and began to pick up the dishes.
Dominic and Marie asked to be excused and went out to the backyard.
They quickly found themselves down by their own private stream and sat still for several moments.
Finally Marie spoke, "So why are ya angry?"
"I'm not angry," Dominic said, lying down in the soft grass.
Marie looked down at his face and frowned, "Stop lyin', Ah know somethin's wrong so spill."
"Fine, you want to know what's been biting my ass?" He didn't wait for an answer, "Mica."
"Oh Gawd, yall didn't break up again did ya?"
"No."
"Oh." She almost sounded disappointed.
"Earlier today we were sitting on the front steps and we were, well, you know." Marie nodded, "Well it was the first time we've actually made out for that long and I started to get nervous."
"You, nervous around Mica?" Marie asked.
Dominic nodded, "First time for everything huh?" He took a deep breath and continued, "Well we started to make out with a lot of tongue and I started to sweat really badly and that's when it happened."
"What happened," Marie asked warily.
Dominic rolled his eyes, "Not that." He ran his palms across the top of the grass. "I manifested my mutant powers."
"Congratulations!" Marie lied down next to him before realization dawned on her, "That freak earthquake everyone's talking about..."
"Was from my powers," Dominic finished.
"Did ya tell Erik?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Well they were all so busy fitting us for our 'mission clothing' I didn't want to ruin the moment."
Marie raised an eyebrow, "How would finding out you're a mutant 'ruin the moment'?"
Dominic raised himself on one elbow, "My powers aren't safe, I'm kind of afraid of them myself," he looked away with a little shame.
Marie turned his face so that he was looking her directly in the eyes. "Dominic don't be shamed, ya just being forced to deal with something new is all. Ah'm sure every mutant has been afraid of their powers."
"Name one."
"Pietro."
Dominic's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Yeah, from what Ah hear he accidentally kept running into walls cuz he couldn't control what he was doing and he was scared shitless."
Dominic laughed. "Thanks Marie, needed that."
* * *
"Dominic what are you doing after school today?"
He tried not to seem annoyed. I have to get home to practice my mutant skills or else my guardian isn't gonna let me go on any of his top secret missions. "I gotta get home to clean, chores and all that."
Mica was disappointed, "that's too bad because a bunch of us were going to just hang out."
"Sorry I have to miss it."
RING!
"Well I gotta get to second hour," Mica said brightly, "Call you later?"
Dominic smiled genuinely and nodded.
While he walked away Mica couldn't help but think he was lying to her. He said he had to clean but Marie said she was free after school and from what Mica understood they all had to help each other out in that house.
The warning bell rang and Mica sighed, sometimes she just couldn't figure Dominic out.
* * *
Cody sat in the back of the lunchroom with a few other kids, Pietro and Greg.
"So then you're Mica's cousin?" Pietro asked.
Cody nodded, "Yup, one year older."
"Cool."
A swift movement of color distracted Cody for a split second. He realized it was the Wanda girl he'd met the day before. "Wanda!" he called.
"What are you, crazy?" Pietro asked, "my sister is insane."
"She's your sister?" Cody asked, unable to see the resemblance.
Wanda walked up to him, "What? You want to insult me some more?"
"Only if ya want meh too."
Pietro frowned, "The two of you know each other already?"
Wanda sat next to Pietro, across from Cody and Greg, "you could say that."
Cody rolled his eyes, "You're just proving that you're hostile."
Wanda crossed her arms, "Both were negative utopias, Huxley chose to press the message that ignorance is bliss while Orwell used a more complex ignorance is bliss and hell. In fact by the end of 1984 Orwell still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Big Brother was being played or if Big Brother was in complete control. Either way the book still reflects modern society."
Pietro and Greg looked confused. Cody nodded, "Good."
Wanda frowned, "That's it? Good? I analyzed the hell out of those books!"
Cody nodded, "True but they weren't that hard to analyze." Wanda clenched her fists and Pietro winced, "Howevah Ah commend you foh actually finishing 1984, most people of your caliber choose ta believe it's a dry book and nevah get passed the first chapter." Cody quickly moved his tray of food out of her grasp and smiled as she got up and stormed off.
Greg looked at Cody in disbelief, "Dude do you just have a death wish?"
* * *
"Dominic concentrate harder."
Dominic concentrated his mind on the small expanse of land around him. Finally he relaxed, "I can't."
Erik frowned, "Dominic obviously you are perfectly capable of using your abilities, you just lack the motivation."
"Or maybe what happened was a one time thing."
Erik thought back to Irene's journals, "Not likely." At the look of despair in the boy's eyes Erik said, "Don't worry, take a ten minute break and we'll resume this lesson."
Nodding, Dominic hurried into the house from the backyard to find something cold to drink. Once at the fridge he noticed a note from Marie;
Hey mama, I'm hanging out with friends I'll be home soon.
Dominic grimaced, he hadn't thought of that. Now Mica would know he had lied to her. Oh well, he'd make it up to her somehow.
* * *
Carly ran her hands through her thick black hair. Truth be told, these
social situations made her a bit nervous. She looked around at her peers running around, acting crazed and wished she could join in. She felt a little awkward, sitting at the lake not doing anything. She wished Marie and Mica would just show up already.
"Hey Carly!"
Speak of those devils. Carly stood up, "Heya guys."
Marie and Mica immediately caught the familiar look of relief on their friend's face. They knew how Carly felt about social situations. Carly had once told them that on top of her social anxiety she felt out of place being the only black girl in Caldecott, Mississippi.
"So Mica what's with you and Dominic?" Carly asked.
Mica smiled, "We finally frenched."
Carly clapped her hands.
Mica bowed in exaggerated pride. "But it was cut short by that weird earthquake."
"How about it," Carly teased, "You're first French kiss caused an earthquake!"
Mica laughed.
Marie laughed a little, covering up how uncomfortable the turn in conversation was making her.
"Hey gals!"
They turned to see Cody walking up to them. Marie locked eyes with him and he winked, making her blush.
"Cody, my dear cousin, where have you been?"
"Making that Wanda gal mad." He admitted.
The three girls looked at him in horror.
"Why would you do something insane like that?" Mica asked.
"She actually came?" Marie asked.
Cody smiled sheepishly, "Making her mad is amusing and," he turned his blue eyes onto Marie's green ones, "Ah insisted that she come."
Marie nodded, "She needs to be more social anyway."
Cody turned on a megawatt smile for Marie, "Ah thought so too."
"Cody have you any idea who you are going to the dance with?" Carly asked.
Cody was taken aback by the question, "No, why?"
Carly nudged Marie a little, earning a glare from Marie.
"No reason," Carly said quickly.
Cody looked a little confused but couldn't respond as Pietro grabbed his arm and dragged him off.
"Hey!" Carly yelled, "We were talking to him!"
"Well we need him to play football!" Pietro yelled back.
"See ya'll later!" Cody yelled.
Carly turned to Marie, "He's definitely crushing on you."
Marie shook her head, "Carly you're reading signs wrong."
Mica cut in, "No I think she's right Marie. My cousin has never looked at a girl like that before." She put her hands in her pockets, "Besides he keeps asking about you."
Marie brushed a strand of curly, auburn, hair behind her ear. "Ya'll are insane."
* * *
Wanda watched the teenagers around her in amusement. Usually things like this weren't her thing, or so she told herself, but to observe people talking about random things and taking stupid bets was fun. She looked down at the field where Cody was playing football. He was one of the weirdest people she had ever met. He actually challenged her on every point, just a few minutes he had been arguing with her over whether or not she dressed the way she did to scare people away. Of course he had shot down her every point but she admired that.
Wanda looked over where Marie was sitting with her friends and sighed. Shy little Marie could make friends so why the hell couldn't she?
* * *
Dominic smiled in triumph. Erik nodded his approval and Irene just winced looking at the property damage Dominic had caused.
"Good job my boy," Erik praised.
Dominic beamed, "Thanks Erik."
Irene congratulated him too, "Nice work Dominic, can't wait to tell Raven."
* * *
"Oh no, look who's coming." Carly said in a quieted voice.
Marie glanced up to see Wanda walking over to them. "Hey Wanda."
Wanda gave her what looked to be a very painful smile.
"Um, hi Wanda," Mica said a little nervously, wondering if Wanda's face would crack from the smile.
"How are you three?" Wanda asked.
"Alright," Carly told her, a little confused. "You?"
"I'm good."
Marie dug the tow of her shoe into the ground as an uncomfortable silence descended upon the girls.
"So," Mica spoke up, "Wanda are you planning on going to the dance with anyone?"
"There's a dance?" Wanda asked.
"Hey, that's what Ah said," Marie told her.
Wanda smiled, "I guess we both need to keep up with the goings on at school."
"Well," Carly spoke up, "I was telling Marie that she should go with Cody because he obviously likes her."
Marie didn't miss the flash in Wanda's eyes but before she could tell what it meant it was gone.
"Cody huh? Well I guess he's alright," Wanda told her.
Marie rolled her eyes, "Not you too."
"Well we all know that Mica and Dominic will go together," Wanda said, catching a seemingly guilty expression on Marie's face.
"If they don't break up first," Carly teased.
"Hey!" Mica exclaimed.
"Well you two do break up more than anyone Ah know," Marie told her.
"And over the craziest things," Wanda added.
"Its true," Carly told her.
"Fine, fine," Mice admitted, "but at least we always forgive each other."
"Yeah, at least," Marie agreed.
Carly stretched her limbs, "Hey do any of you want to go swimming?"
Marie immediately shook her head, "Not particularly."
Mica looked at her friend sympathetically. "Yeah it's a little chilly."
Wanda grimaced, the thought of having to reapply her makeup horrifying her, "Yeah, too cold." Carly rolled her eyes, "Well I'm not going alone." "I'll go with you." The girls jumped as the voice boomed behind them. "Pietro, you ass!" Wanda exclaimed. "What?" He asked innocently, "I'm not allowed to talk to you guys?" "What happened to your game?" Mica asked. "Got bored with it." "In other words you were losing and couldn't stand it." Wanda pushed his buttons. "Hey!" Pietro cried indignantly, "I never lose anything! I just got bored, and anyway I was talking to Carly." He turned to her, "Carly I wanna go swimming." She shrugged, "Did you bring swim trunks?" He shook his head, "I'll just use these shorts." He smiled, "Unless you wanna go skinny dipping." She blushed, "Shut up and follow me." "Yeah he was definitely losing," Mica said after they left. "Cody was probably kicking their asses." "A little confident in your cousin aren't ya?" Marie asked. "Cody's your cousin?" Wanda asked. "Yup," Mica answered, wondering why Wanda should care. "Oh, and he was already playing JV football his freshman year, he was a starter." "His freshman year?" Wanda asked confused, "I thought he was a freshman now." "Nope, he's a sophomore."
"Why did he move down here anyway?"
"His parents got divorced," Mica told her.
"Oh."
Marie switched topics, "Did ya evah read that book Ah gave ya?"
Wanda's eyes brightened, "Yeah, loved it, though I thought it was a little trippy."
"Good, ya should read Frankenstein next."
"I've seen the movie."
Marie shook her head, "Not the same."
Mica rolled her eyes, "Marie stop trying to turn everyone into a bookworm."
"Hey, books rock."
"Now you sound like one of those crazy posters at school."
* * *
Cody looked around the field, the game was over, his team had dominated. He loved the feeling football gave him.
"Great job man!" One of the other boys slapped him on the back.
Cody nodded, "Thanks."
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Wanda with Marie and Mica. He decided to go over to them.
"Yeah ya'll."
Three pairs of eyes looked at him.
"Cody what do you think? Is reading a waste of time?"
"Mica, reading rocks."
"Now you sound like Marie."
Marie smiled a little and Cody's mind went blank. All he could do was nod.
Wanda looked at Cody and felt a little jealous. She frowned, why should she be jealous? "Well Marie and I took the position that reading is important and your dear cousin here keeps telling us that reading is a waste of time because of the other things we could be getting out and doing."
Cody dropped his voice and whispered, "Well don't tell Mica this o' anything but she'd completely insane."
"Hey!" Mica hit him on the arm.
"What?" Cody asked innocently, "Ah didn't say anything."
"You are such a dork."
* * *
A few hours later Wanda found herself talking several people she was sure she didn't know. She felt completely in her comfort zone. She hadn't ever thought she would actually like talking to her peers but there she was sharing stories and laughing at jokes. A few people had even complimented her style and if it wasn't for the fact that they were punkers she might have doubted their sincerity.
She could see Marie further away talking to Cody and felt that jealousy start to rise again. She mentally kicked herself; Cody wasn't hers. Still, she would love to have him look at her that way.
She turned back to the conversation when someone made mention of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert.
"Ah hear they're coming to Mississippi in a few weeks!" Sandra exclaimed.
"Where are they performing?" Rob asked.
The girl told the awaiting group of teenagers.
"That's not even that far away!" Rob said excitedly.
Wanda had to admit, she liked the Peppers but she didn't know a lot of their material, just what was on the radio.
"Man, there's no way I'm going to be able to convince mah parents ta let meh go," Nick said disappointed.
"Hey its getting dark," Sandra said.
Wanda shivered a little, her clothes were definitely not made for cold weather. It was times like this that she had to admit that dressing like Marie would be beneficial. She felt a jacket being draped over her shoulders and looked up to see Cody.
"Ah saw that ya were cold," he told her.
She smiled, genuinely, "Thank you."
"Do ya want meh ta walk ya home?" he asked.
"Yeah."
* * *
"So ya like all that witchcraft stuff?"
Both of them were in Wanda's room.
Wanda nodded, "Yup, but it's not 'witchcraft' its art."
Cody nodded, "Ah guess ya would know better than Ah would."
"Yup, I would."
"There's that defensiveness again," Cody said with a smile.
Wanda laughed, "Oh Cody its got nothing to do with defensiveness and more to do with my knowing everything."
"Mah mistake."
Wanda noticed how close they were sitting for the first time. She could feel his thigh brushing up against hers and looking into his beautiful blue eyes she felt a little lightheaded. His lips got closer to hers and she closed her eyes slowly. His lips were softer than anything she had ever felt and she felt herself kissing him back with more ease than she had thought possible.
When they finally broke apart Wanda was stunned. Cody wet his lips a little nervously and smiled, "Well if ya know everything then ya had ta know that was coming."
* * *
"So your nightmares have been involving this stream?" Dominic was trying to make sense of what Marie was telling him.
She nodded, "It doesn't matter what's happening, but mah nightmares are always here."
Dominic put his arms around her, "You know they aren't real right?"
"Of course Ah do, Ah'm not stupid."
"I know, I just don't want you to have any phobias because of these strange dreams."
Marie leaned into him, "Ah'm glad Ah have ya ta talk ta Dom cuz Ah'm not sure anyone else would get it."
He absently ran his fingers through her curly hair, noting that it was soft. "No worries Marie, I will always be here for you."
Marie nodded then shot a bright smile into his face, "That's why Ah'm glad Erik decided ta adopt ya."
At the mention of his mentor's name Dominic's face brightened, "Did I tell you what happened earlier?"
"No," Marie said noting his excitement, "What happened?"
"I learned how to use my powers!"
"Oh Dom, congratulations," she threw her arms around him and held him.
Dominic didn't mind, he could smell the sweet scent of lilacs in her hair and thanked Herbal Essences for making such strong shampoo.
Marie broke Dominic's thoughts when she looked up at him, "Now we're all set ta go on those missions."
Dominic nodded absently and moved a strand of hair from her face. He felt his palms start to sweat and his heart felt like it might explode but he got closer to her anyway. God, how those gorgeous green eyes were calling to him.
Marie felt her breath catch in her throat and her smiled started to fade as she realized what he was doing. Against her better judgment she felt herself being drawn in towards him. A mental image of a moth and a flame arose in her mind but she quickly extinguished it, finding it easier to concentrate on Dominic's beautiful brown eyes.
His lips were just a breath from hers when she stepped away.
"No Dom, we can't," she murmured.
"Why not?" he asked softly.
"Mica."
Those two syllables slapped Dominic in the face. He let his arms drop in defeat and he attempted to smile, "Come on, we're probably late for dinner."
* * *
Wanda noticed that Marie and Dominic's places were vacant, probably out in the yard. Actually she and cody were the first people at the table. She turned her attention back to Cody. He was talking about some of his favorite places in Caldecott, ones that he remembered from living here years ago.
"Yeah, the Wreck is still up, though its been remodeled about a million times in the last few years." She was telling him, "Actually they are having a grand re-opening soon, do you want to go?"
"Definitly!"
Irene walked into the room, "Hi Wanda, who's your friend?"
"Hi Irene," Wanda looked at Cody, "This is my dad's friend Irene Adler."
Cody stood up, "Mah name is Cody," he shook her hand, "Pleased to meet you Miss Adler."
Irene looked at him in approval, "Same here Cody." She seated herself at the already set table, "Where is everyone else?"
"I'm here," Erik walked in and seated himself as well. Having already been introduced to Cody earlier he was not surprised to see him.
Raven, or rather Hillary, walked in seconds later and took a seat as well. Seeing Cody she opened her mouth to ask who he was but Wanda beat her to it.
"Hillary this is my friend Cody, he just moved back to Caldecott. Cody this is Hillary Farmer, she lives here with her daughter."
Cody smiled and joked, "Are there more people that Ah didn't see befoh or are they hiding?"
Raven laughed, "It sure feels that way around here sometimes."
Erik nodded, "Yeah, there are still THREE OTHER PEOPLE WHO NEED TO GET THEIR BUTTS DOWN TO THE DINNER TABLE!"
Irene winced, "Erik please don't yell, I doubt the children respond to it anyway."
"Alright! Alright!" Pietro exclaimed running down the stairs, "I'm coming."
Erik looked at Irene in triumph.
"Fine, you get one point," Irene told him.
Cody watched their antics, amused.
"Geez, Erik we could hear you yell from all the way outside."
Cody looked up in surprise as Marie and Dominic walked in.
"Just take your seats so we can eat!" Pietro exclaimed, "I'm starving."
"Then why weren't you down here on time?" Erik asked.
Pietro opened his mouth then shut it.
Wanda rolled her eyes, "Pietro you are so stupid."
"Don't call me stupid."
"Wanda don't call your brother stupid." Erik chastised.
"Yeah, just because he was dropped on his head as a baby-" Dominic started.
"Hey!" Dominic exclaimed as everyone laughed.
Wanda noticed Cody's confused expression, "Oh yeah, Cody, you know Marie, she's Hillary's daughter. And Dominic is my foster brother."
* * *
Cody and Wanda stood on the front porch. "Well Ah guess Ah should say good night."
Wanda nodded, "I guess we should."
Cody leaned in and kissed Wanda on the cheek, "Ah'll see ya at school."
Wanda smiled as she watched him leave.
* * *
"Pietro!" Dominic came storming into Pietro's room.
By the looks of things Pietro had been talking to someone on the phone but as soon as Dominic burst into the room he had covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
"What do you want Dominic?" Pietro sounded annoyed.
"What did you do with my shoes?"
Pietro rolled his eyes, "Dominic I would never be caught dead wearing those ratty chucks, Nikes are in. Besides its night, why would you need them right now?"
Dominic didn't answer, just left the room. His next stop was the kitchen. On instinct he looked under the sink and went through the trash. Just as he had suspected, some one had thrown away his favorite shoes. Grabbing them he ran to Erik's room and knocked on the door.
The older man opened his door to find the teenager holding the old pair of shoes. "I'm sorry Dominic but I had to do it. I begged you for a month to throw those old things away but you chose to ignore me."
"But they're my babies!" Dominic exclaimed.
"Buy new shoes, I hear Nikes are in."
"Ahhhh!" Dominic let out an exasperated cry and stormed off to his room. Slamming the door he was surprised to find Marie sitting on his bed. "Marie?"
"Ah tried to sleep but Ah had another nightmare," she sniffled.
Dominic sat on the bed, lying her down, and held her until she fell asleep.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
La de da! I've completed what's probably my longest freakin' chapter! Lets take a look at the reviews!
LiLRoguE: I'LL UPDATE! I'LL UPDATE! YOU MONSTER! LOL. Thanks for the compliment!
Elrohirthewriter: Your guess might be right on the mark, or it might not be. I can't tell you though I'm dying to.
Panther Nesmith: Love that I've made you so happy! They better all respect Irene or she'll beat the hell out of all of them! ::turns to Irene:: Are you happy now Irene? ::Irene nods:: She's happy. Yeah I have got to get around to explaining Sinister soon or I might drive a few of my readers insane, hell I might drive myself insane. He he he, cookie jars and hand grenades, I'm going to remember that one!
Blueclover: No, thank you for reading. He he, you read my mind, X-Men Cameos. There will probably be more of them as this story progresses but for now you have X-men in Marie's dreams. Anyway, welcome to the mix and I sincerely hope you post another review!
Ishandahalf: Freakin' Awesome! Another Clash fan! You, me, and Panther (see above), should join some kind of club, or cult. How do you think I dealt with the confused kids? Think I was too harsh? Back to the Clash, Joe Strummer was freakin' awesome I just wish I could have seen the Clash in concert but alas tis too late. And on that depressing note I hope you love the remaining chapters of my story.
Caliente: I'm not really sure Lila Cheney was ever a reporter. I know there was someone in the X-Men (Beast's girlfriend) who was a reporter but I couldn't remember her name so I used Lila's. I'll have to look up the real girl soon. I'll be sure to let you know if it does freakishly turn out to be Lila. Stereotypes really do sick, especially if you're Marie, although I found the situation fascinating as well. Its so sad that I can keep myself amused like that. Just out of curiosity what does (sp) mean? I'm not fluent in internet speak, sadly enough. Glad you decided to join the twisted zone that I call my fanfiction! Please post another review!
Tammy: My dear old friend. I can always count on you to post a review! Marie and Dominic are making more and more sense to me so I'm glad you like their friendship. As for New kids, I really don't remember them much. I actually didn't start to hear a lot about them until after they were popular.
If I forgot to thank anyone or if I made some kind of mistake while I was responding to your review, I apologize it's like one in the morning and I've lost it completely but as usual I LOVE MY READERS AND REVIEWERS!
Stay tuned for the next chapter: The kids go on their first mission, you can't miss it!
Disclaimer: I refuse to do this again!
The Damned, Episode 1 Chapter 11: The Good, The Bad, The Hormones
Marie stripped down to her underwear and began to float. The river provided the freedom she needed from her stressful household. Her parents weren't speaking, nor were they speaking to Erik. Wanda, Pietro, and Dominic wouldn't say much, they were too confused and angry to say anything remotely coherent and Marie was trying to stay out of the way.
She closed her eyes, wishing she could just let the river take her where it wanted to go but alas she had to stay in Mississippi with her family and face the music. She couldn't just run away from her problems, she had to get through them.
"Hey." A quiet voice murmured.
She opened her eyes and looked into the eyes of a man she had never seen before.
"Hello my Rogue."
Rogue?
"I'm here to offer you sanctuary. I have a haven for kids like you, you could get away from your problems, they aren't yours to solve."
Marie looked into the balding man's eyes and realized he was serious. She stood, letting the water lap around her waste. "No, Ah can't."
This answer seemed displeasing to the older man. He frowned, "Very well," He turned around and a second man appeared, "Cyclops, be rid of her."
Before Marie could open her mouth to scream a flash of red consumed her vision. She could hear only the laughs of the older man.
* * *
BEEP!
She awoke; sweat forming a puddle under her body. With disgust she realized some of that puddle was not sweat at all but her own urine. She quickly ran down the hall to the nearest bathroom and threw herself, without clothing, into the bathtub. She shuddered, wondering who the people in her dream were.
Marie felt her muscles release their tension. She sighed, who cared? Deciphering the dreams wouldn't help her regain her sanity.
* * *
"Irene?" a soft voice called.
Irene was sitting on the roof of her home, the one place she thought no one would think to look for her. She had her arms wrapped around her legs and her face rested on her knees. "What?" she asked sourly, recognizing Raven's voice.
Raven gathered her courage, "I wanted to talk."
Irene snorted, "Why? So you can convince me that other foolish things you've done were really in my own best interest?"
Raven sat next to Irene and Irene looked away. Raven sighed, "You know for the more rational of the two of us you aren't being very rational."
The comment had the effect Raven intended it to. Irene's head snapped up and angry eyes picked Raven's face apart. "You want me to be rational! Fine what if I left you today?! What if I took Marie with me! That would be the only rational thing left to do wouldn't it!" Irene stood, "No, maybe I should kick the two of you out, after all this is my house and the two of you can have the life you've always dreamed of."
Raven continued to sit, "Irene is that what you really think? That I want Erik?"
Irene didn't say anything.
"Before I met you I was involved with Erik, you know that, I know that, hell I don't think there's anyone who didn't know. But believe me what I say you are the only one for me. What Erik and I had was nothing; it wasn't anywhere close to love. I love you more than anyone I've ever known."
Irene avoided her gaze, "You mean that?"
Raven stood, briefly wondering how Irene could balance on the Victorian roof so easily. She placed her arms around Irene in a hug. "Look at me." Irene did. "I know we've had our problems lately but I promise we'll work through them, that is, if you'll let me stay."
Irene smiled sheepishly and nodded, "Alright but you have to stop taking stupid risks."
Raven smiled and kissed Irene deeply.
* * *
Erik looked down at the ground in faint amusement; he was flying. It wasn't a natural part of his mutant power but he found that by using his powers to manipulate the magnetic forces around him he could force his body into the air. It took practice but it seemed to be getting easier with every passing day. These flights were all that kept him grounded. Up in the air it was as if all of his problems went away, his uncertainty surrounding mutant/human relations, his relationships (business and personal), and his children.
He slowly made his decent and frowned. Through several talks with Irene, he had looked into the possible futures of all of the children. It was this knowledge that had possessed him to adopt Dominic and it was this knowledge that would ultimately determine whether or not his life goals were successful.
He ground his teeth together, realizing overcoming him, he needed to distance himself from all that was distracting him from achieving his goals. If it meant dropping whatever it was that he and Raven had, then so be it. Glaring at the sunny sky he made his decision, he would do everything he could from that moment on to make those possible futures a reality, no matter what the cost.
* * *
Mississippi, 1994
"Marie aren't you the least bit excited?" Mica squawked in her ear.
Marie held the phone to her ear and scowled at her reflection. It was early morning and she was in the bathroom attempting to get dressed but her hair was not working with her. "Why should Ah be excited Mica?"
Mica sat on her fuzzy pink bed, already dressed, "Marie it's our first day of high school!"
"Maybe so but its still school, where they try to make us learn."
Mica rolled her eyes, "Whatever happened to the girl that couldn't absorb enough information?"
"Ah still love the info Mica but they teach us the dumbest stuff, stuff Ah figured out on mah own years ago."
"Sure, sure." She paused, "Hey did, um, Dominic say if he was walking to school with us?"
Marie made eye contact with her reflection as if to tell it that Mica had flipped. "Mica you guys aren't even going out anymore, what difference does it make?"
"But Marie you know it would look so much better for us if we had some guy walk with us to school, we'd be more popular."
Marie laughed, "We're freshmen, Ah'm not sure we're allowed to be popular." She frowned as her hair refused to follow her orders, "Mica Ah'll meet ya ta walk ta school but Ah really gotta fix mah hair."
"Alright, I suppose I should eat breakfast anyway."
"Bye." They said in unison.
After ten minutes of yanking at her curls, Marie was convinced no one would notice the tangles and left the bathroom.
"Geez its about time." Wanda snapped.
Marie rolled her eyes, "Great ta see ya too?"
"Whatever," Wanda pushed passed her to get to the bathroom.
The years hadn't been as kind to Marie's relationship with Wanda as they had been with Dominic. Wanda still refused to open up to Marie on any level of friendship. Marie suspected that had something to do with the girl's loyalty to her father but she wasn't exactly sure. All Marie knew was that Wanda didn't seem to want friends she chose to just hang out with Marie from time to time, only to get under her skin.
Marie walked to her room and treaded through her sea of clothing and dirt. She found what she wanted on her bed, her Walkman and Greenday cassette. After smiling at her Kurt Cobain memorial poster she left her room only to run into Dominic in the hall.
"Hey Marie I was gonna ask if you wanted breakfast or something."
"No thanks Dom, Ah think Ah'll just hold out until lunch."
He shrugged, "Well I already ate but I thought I'd ask."
She nodded and began to climb down the staircase. "Dom," She called back, "Are ya walkin' ta school with me today or not?"
He climbed down after her, "Sure."
As they reached the front door she warned him, "Mica's walkin' with us."
He cringed and Marie knew why. The reason he had broken up with Mica, a record three times, was that she had started to annoy him. According to Dominic she was fun to hang out with, and make out with, but she just didn't understand him. Eventually he just got tired of trying to explain himself to her and just called it quits.
"What do you wanna bet she'll flirt wit' ya?"
"I hope not."
"Marie are you really going to wear that to school!?" Irene called from the top of the stairs.
It was Marie's turn to cringe. "Yes." With that she left, Dominic in tow.
Irene shook her head in frustration. Marie's developing sense of style had to be Dominic's influence. Out of everyone in the house they were the closest and shared everything, from taste in music to reading material. Irene just knew that Marie's new "punk image" as Irene referred to it, was because of Dominic.
The woman was snapped out of her thoughts by a gust of air passing by. "Pietro walk in the house!"
Pietro heard and stopped abruptly. He loved his mutant ability. They had manifested over the summer accompanied by puberty. "Sorry," he croaked.
Irene tried not to laugh at his cracking voice, not wanted to make the boy self-conscious. "Pietro there is no need to run everywhere, you're sure to give yourself a heart attack."
The boy smiled charmingly, "I promise to work on controlling my urges."
Irene descended the stairs, "You had better, do you remember the conversation we had?"
Pietro nodded, "Don't let anyone know about my mutant powers, got it."
Irene nodded, "Good, now get to school."
* * *
Wanda scowled to herself as her dad dropped her off at school. She hated school more than anything in the world, she could see why some people chose to drop out rather than graduate but knowing her father this was not an option.
"Thanks for the ride Dad."
"No problem Wanda, have a good first day of high school."
Wanda hopped out and muttered, "Right."
* * *
Marie was standing with her group of friends, which included Dominic and Mica, just talking before school started. Mica couldn't help but feel a little jealous of the way Marie could pull of just about any style. Today Marie was wearing tight light blue jeans with chunks of material missing. Under these jeans were a pair of black tights. Her top was a black turtleneck accented by a silver skull necklace with a matching bracelet. If Mica had known that the jewelry was a gift from Dominic she surely would have attacked her friend. Marie had made the decision not to tell Mica even though it was all very innocent; Dominic had bought the bracelet and necklace for her on a trip to New York with their parents. He'd only done it because Marie had been feeling incredibly depressed but Marie doubted Mica would see it that way.
"Hey there's Wanda," Mica told the group, "Wanda! Over here!"
Wanda walked up to them with the scowl that was her face. "What." It wasn't a real question, just a curt answer.
A lot of the time the group had no idea why they talked to her, she was always rude, never respected anyone but herself, and acted like they were beneath her.
"Um, hey Wanda," Dominic said nervously.
She rolled her eyes and Dominic noticed the heavy make up she was wearing. She had started her makeup craze earlier that summer but Dominic had to admit it had never been as bad as it was at that very moment. Her face was buried under a layer of blush and her eyelids looked as though they could be suffering under the mountains of scarlet glob thrown on them.
"Love the makeup," Carly, one of the people in the group, told her admiringly.
Dominic shook his head; sometimes he didn't understand girls.
"Thanks," Wanda replied flatly.
Marie looked at Wanda and then at her watch, "Um, hey Ah think ah should go try ta find mah homeroom now." Anything to get away from Wanda.
"What's your homeroom?" Wanda asked.
"Room 812."
A slow deliberate smile stretched across Wanda's face, "I'm in the same room, I'll walk with you."
Marie began to sweat, there was no way out of this one without looking like a complete jerk, "Alright." She forced a smile, "Lets go."
* * *
Dominic watched in pity as his good friend was forced to leave with Wanda The Witch, as they secretly called her.
"Hey Dom," Carly snapped her fingers in front of his face.
"Hm?" He looked at her, "Please don't call me Dom, I hate that nickname."
"Okay," Carly said confused, she was sure she'd heard Marie use it a few times, "Mica was asking if you wanted to meet up at the Pizza Palace after school."
Not really. Dominic looked into Mica's expectant eyes. Crap. "Sure."
Mica smiled sweetly, "Good I'll tell Marie at lunch and we'll meet you there!"
RRRIIINGG!
"Is it already eight?" Carly asked in surprise.
Dominic nodded, "Yup and I have to get to room 516, on the other side of the school, so I'll see you two later." Dominic noticed Carly's, not so subtly, push Mica after him.
"Dom, I'm going to 515, I'll go with you."
Just great. "Great!" Just don't call me Dom.
* * *
"What'll it be ya'll?"
Dominic looked at the waitress. "Cheese."
Pietro wrinkled his nose in disgust, "Dude you are so boring." Turning on his megawatt smile he looked at the waitress, "Pepperoni."
"Are ya'll sure?" The waitress asked.
The six teenagers nodded and the waitress walked off.
Dominic looked around the table in bewilderment. Only he, Marie, Mica, and Carly were supposed to have met up at the Palace. He didn't know how but Marie had ended up not coming with them and Pietro and two of his friends had joined.
"So Pietro," Friend number one started, "tell Mica what happened with Marie in Bio."
"Craig that's not really necessary." Pietro looked noticeably uncomfortable.
"What happened in bio," Mica asked warily.
"Well," Friend number 2 continued, "Apparently some guy was coming onto her- "
"Wait," Carly said, "What guy?"
Craig shrugged, "Don't know, some red haired guy."
"Anyway," Friend number two said, "I guess he's known her as long as the rest of us because he asked her why she always had those gloves on and asked if she would take them off so he could see her pretty little hands."
"You guys," Pietro said warningly.
Dominic was completely alert.
"Pietro I'm sure that as Marie's best friend, Mica has the right to know."
"Todd it doesn't matter," Pietro insisted.
"What happened?" Mica demanded.
Craig continued for Todd, "She told him it was a fashion statement and that he should buzz off and he got really angry and started yelling, saying that she was a freakin' mutie and that's why she had to wear the gloves, to hide a gross disfigurement," Craig and Todd both laughed at this.
Mica and Dominic both felt the floor drop out from under them. They both knew that Marie was hiding her scars, although Dominic had never seen them, and the fact that the boy had come so close to figuring out why she wore the gloves must have shaken her badly.
"Um, what did Marie say to that?" Carly asked.
Pietro cut in for his friends, "That's the weird part, usually she'd come back with some witty remark but she just looked at him in surprise." Pietro knew that Mica and Dominic could probably make sense of it but he didn't ask for details, not in front of his friends.
Switching topics quickly, Carly asked Mica about her classes.
"They're decent," Mica said, "Really boring but I get five out of seven classes with Dominic so its all good."
Dominic forced a smile. Yeah, good for her.
After an hour Mica looked at her watch, "Oh, I've got to get home, my mom wanted me to help her clean up the house." She stood up and looked at Dominic, "Do you want to walk me home?"
Do I have a choice? "Sure." He looked back at the table, "See you guys tomorrow."
* * *
Mica scrubbed the tiled floors of her kitchen with ease. She was so used to being her mother's helper that she was sure she could do these chores with her eyes glued shut.
"Mica honey!"
"Yeah Mom?"
"Can you come here for second?"
Mica followed the sound of her mother's voice, it led her to the living room. "Yeah mom?"
Her mom frowned, "Do you think we should rearrange the living room furniture?"
Mica gave her mom a look of insanity, "Mom you're acting like we're having the President over for dinner, its just Aunt Augusta."
"Yeah but honey they're moving down here, we should at least make them feel welcome." She sighed, "If we had a big house like that friend of yours, Marie, I'm sure we could pull it off better."
"Mom the furniture is fine, we just need to clean." Mica began to walk back to the kitchen.
"Yeah well I think I'll at least rearrange the backyard furniture a little."
* * *
"Marie," Dominic knocked on her door softly.
"Yeah?"
"Can I come in?"
"Dom, what did Ah tell ya about that question?"
"May I come in?"
"Sure."
The first thing Dominic noticed upon entering her room was that it was clean. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Marie muttered, lying on her bed, staring out the window.
"Okay lets take another approach," He got closer to Marie's bed, "I heard what happened, do you want to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about," Marie told him.
Dominic looked at the bare floor, "Well you cleaned your room so there's gotta be something wrong."
"Can't a person just clean her room?"
"A person, yes. You, no."
"Shut up Dom."
He took a chance and ran a finger up her back. She squealed, "That tickles." She turned around to look at him.
He smiled proudly, "Will you stop being so damn stubborn and just talk to me already?"
Marie looked at him and it all came pouring out, "I was just shaken up that Daniel could come so close to the truth and it got me thinking about my gross scars and how he would react if he could actually see them."
Dominic nodded in understanding, "Hey guys say stupid things, end of story. Don't worry about Daniel, he's not that bright anyway."
"Thanks Dom, just needed to tell that to someone."
"No prob." He made her scoot over so he could sit comfortably on her bed.
"So what's with ya and Mica?"
Dominic laughed, "Did she call you as soon as she got home?"
Marie laughed, "Yeah."
"So then you know that we'll be dating once again?" Dominic looked at Marie.
"Yup."
"Good."
* * *
That night at dinner the only topic being discussed was one of mutants.
"So what do you think about what that Xavier guy is trying to do?" Pietro asked.
"Its wrong," Erik stated.
"Why?" Wanda asked.
"You see," Raven said, "he believes that mutants should come to his school to learn how to use their powers to help those that want them dead."
"Why?" Marie asked.
"I served with him Marie and let me tell you, he's one of the most twisted human beings I've ever met." Erik took a bite of his steak, "And let me tell you its harder than hell to try to figure that man out and now he's got five young mutants working for him, he's dangerous."
Dominic sipped his soup in silence; the mutant issue didn't interest him much. It didn't concern him in the slightest.
Irene sipped her tea and spoke, "Have you given the children the great news?"
"What news?" Pietro asked.
"Well," Raven started, "Since you have come so far in your training, we feel that its about time you all started coming with Erik and I on missions."
Dominic wasn't sure that he was hearing things correctly; they had long since been told what it was that Raven and Erik did on these missions but, "Why?"
"Dominic, what have we been telling you all these years?" Erik asked.
"That those who are able and willing to fight the war for mutant preservation should do all in their power to do so." He recited perfectly.
"But Dominic and Ah aren't mutants," Marie protested.
Raven smiled, "Do you think I would have spent my time training students that couldn't defend themselves without mutant powers?"
Knowing her mother's perfectionism, Marie shook her head, "But won't it be dangerous?"
"That's why you aren't going to be completely in the field," Erik explained, "we decided to train you on a few missions then, if you're good, let you get more hands on."
Pietro nodded eagerly and even Wanda looked excitedly. Marie and Dominic exchanged glances.
"So I need you all home to be fitted right after school tomorrow," Irene was saying.
"Fitted for what?" Wanda asked warily.
"You'll see."
* * *
"Oh mah gosh, hurry up!"
"I'm trying to," as Dominic chased Marie down the street he realized just how much the training had helped him. Before he'd moved to Mississippi he doubted he could run a yard without panting, now he was running for blocks at a time without getting tired.
"Dominic we're already late to meet Mica and she really wants us to meet her cousin!"
"So?"
Marie stopped, finally out of breath, "So she says its her closest cousin and Ah think that as her best friend and her boyfriend we should be nice ta him."
"Fine, fine, but lets just walk from here."
Marie nodded, not that it made much of a difference, they were already close to their meeting spot, in fact she could make out the shapes of two teenagers in the distance.
* * *
Mica looked her cousin over once more, trying to make sure he was presentable.
Her cousin rolled his eyes, "Mica stop tryin' ta find somethin' wrong with meh."
Mica giggled, "Sorry I just really want nothing to go wrong. Dominic and Marie are the two most important people in my life."
Her cousin mock frowned, "Hey what about meh?"
"You two," Mica looked up, "Hey there they are!" She waved and saw her friends sprint towards her.
"Ah win!" Marie told Dominic.
"No way!" Dominic exclaimed, "We so tied!"
Mica turned towards her cousin, "These lunatics are my closest friends, Marie and Dominic."
Her cousin was not listening; he was in a daze. Looking her up and down he found heaven; lovely curves, soft-looking skin, wildly curly hair fell around her shoulders only to be set off by those emerald green eyes! He felt his heart skip a beat then stop. He could barely hear his cousin introduce him to her friends.
"Marie, Dominic, this is my cousin Cody Robbins."
* * *
Cody grabbed a lunch tray and searched the cafeteria for a place to sit. He sighed, he didn't have the same lunch hour as his cousin, or her friends, so there really wasn't anyone that he knew. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a girl sitting by herself reading, figuring she could use some company he walked over to her.
"Hey, Ah'm new, can Ah sit here?"
The girl looked up at him, annoyance etched into the deep features on her face, "Why?"
Cody was taken aback but covered smoothly, "Ah can't turn down the chance to sit and eat with someone as charming as yourself."
The girl caught the sarcasm in Cody's voice, "Fine, sit but I'm not planning on entertaining you."
Cody sat, "Fine."
As the girl turned back to her book Cody noticed the heavy scarlet makeup accented by her scarlet clothing.
"So, what's your name?" Cody asked.
The girl didn't even look at him, "Wanda."
Cody nodded, "So you like 1984?"
Wanda shrugged, "Yeah, the books okay so far."
Cody feigned shock, "Okay! That's it? Ah read it and fell in love with Orwell."
Wanda looked at him as she replied, "I'm not really into these kind of books but this girl I live with is and told me I should read it."
"Well whoever you live with should smack you around until you get the point of that book. Ah mean, have ya read Brave New World?"
Ms. Scarlet, as Cody referred to her in his head, nodded her head, "Liked that book better."
"Figures."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
Cody picked at his food a little, taking a small bite of what was supposed to be mashed potatoes. "Ah didn't mean anything really. Its just common foh people to like Brave New World better, its simpler."
Cody was sure that if Wanda wasn't wearing so much makeup he would have seen her face turn red, "Are you calling me simple?"
He answered calmly, "No, Ah said that the book was more simple. If ya choose ta get defensive that's yo problem."
Wanda narrowed her eyes, "I am not defensive."
"That sure sounds like something someone would say if they were defensive."
She reached across the table and picked up his bowl of mashed potatoes. Before Cody could say anything he found himself wearing his food. Smiling contently, Wanda got up and walked away.
* * *
"So did ya hear what Wanda did ta Cody?"
Marie sat cross legged on the floor of Carly's bedroom looking through CDs, "No, an' please tell meh it didn't involve sacrificing small animals."
Carly sat next to her, "No, and you have to stop with that twisted sense of humor." She shook her head, "Anyway, apparently Cody said some stuff to really piss her off and she spilled his food all over him."
Marie looked at her friend, "Well that's our Wanda foh ya, makin' lotsa new friends."
Carly giggled, "Yeah." Her eyes went wide, "Oh and guess what?"
"What?"
"Mica said that she thinks Dominic is going to ask her to the dance."
Marie frowned, "There's a dance coming up?"
"Um yeah, where have you been? They've only been talking about it all over school. I guess its some kind of welcome back dance."
Marie looked at Carly, "Are you gonna go?"
Carly shrugged, "Maybe, if someone asks me. What about you?"
"Naw, dances ain't mah thing."
"Oh, how do you like this group?"
Marie looked at the CD in Carly's hands, "Not really a fan."
"Well anyway, we really need to get dates to this dance because I am not going to go stag."
"Who says we have ta go?"
"No one really but I'm tired to Mica and Dominic having all the fun." Carly rested her head against the wall, "Where are they anyway?"
"Probably at mah house making googly eyes at each othah."
"Yeah," Carly smiled, " 'Oh Dominic'" She put on a much lighter voice, " 'Hold me, I can't live without you!'"
Marie's eyes lit up and her voice went deeper, " 'Mica my love all I want is to be your boytoy, please be mine!'"
Both girls laughed hysterically before they felt the floor move.
"What the hell was that?" Carly asked, shocked.
* * *
That night at dinner, Dominic was silent. To Erik he seemed almost bashful.
"Dominic," Erik said, "Is everything alright?"
Dominic mumbled, "Just fine."
Erik seemed content to let that go and resumed talking politics with Raven and Irene.
Dominic felt a kick under the table and looked up into Marie's waiting eyes. She shrugged and raised an eyebrow. Dominic shook his head, letting her know that he didn't want to talk about it.
"Alright, Wanda its your turn to clear the table." Irene's voice punctured Dominic's thoughts.
Wanda groaned, "Why can't Pietro do it? He has the super speed."
Pietro grinned at his twin, "Jealous?"
She stuck out her tongue, "As if."
Erik sighed, "Wanda please just be complacent."
She rolled her eyes and began to pick up the dishes.
Dominic and Marie asked to be excused and went out to the backyard.
They quickly found themselves down by their own private stream and sat still for several moments.
Finally Marie spoke, "So why are ya angry?"
"I'm not angry," Dominic said, lying down in the soft grass.
Marie looked down at his face and frowned, "Stop lyin', Ah know somethin's wrong so spill."
"Fine, you want to know what's been biting my ass?" He didn't wait for an answer, "Mica."
"Oh Gawd, yall didn't break up again did ya?"
"No."
"Oh." She almost sounded disappointed.
"Earlier today we were sitting on the front steps and we were, well, you know." Marie nodded, "Well it was the first time we've actually made out for that long and I started to get nervous."
"You, nervous around Mica?" Marie asked.
Dominic nodded, "First time for everything huh?" He took a deep breath and continued, "Well we started to make out with a lot of tongue and I started to sweat really badly and that's when it happened."
"What happened," Marie asked warily.
Dominic rolled his eyes, "Not that." He ran his palms across the top of the grass. "I manifested my mutant powers."
"Congratulations!" Marie lied down next to him before realization dawned on her, "That freak earthquake everyone's talking about..."
"Was from my powers," Dominic finished.
"Did ya tell Erik?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Well they were all so busy fitting us for our 'mission clothing' I didn't want to ruin the moment."
Marie raised an eyebrow, "How would finding out you're a mutant 'ruin the moment'?"
Dominic raised himself on one elbow, "My powers aren't safe, I'm kind of afraid of them myself," he looked away with a little shame.
Marie turned his face so that he was looking her directly in the eyes. "Dominic don't be shamed, ya just being forced to deal with something new is all. Ah'm sure every mutant has been afraid of their powers."
"Name one."
"Pietro."
Dominic's eyes lit up, "Really?"
"Yeah, from what Ah hear he accidentally kept running into walls cuz he couldn't control what he was doing and he was scared shitless."
Dominic laughed. "Thanks Marie, needed that."
* * *
"Dominic what are you doing after school today?"
He tried not to seem annoyed. I have to get home to practice my mutant skills or else my guardian isn't gonna let me go on any of his top secret missions. "I gotta get home to clean, chores and all that."
Mica was disappointed, "that's too bad because a bunch of us were going to just hang out."
"Sorry I have to miss it."
RING!
"Well I gotta get to second hour," Mica said brightly, "Call you later?"
Dominic smiled genuinely and nodded.
While he walked away Mica couldn't help but think he was lying to her. He said he had to clean but Marie said she was free after school and from what Mica understood they all had to help each other out in that house.
The warning bell rang and Mica sighed, sometimes she just couldn't figure Dominic out.
* * *
Cody sat in the back of the lunchroom with a few other kids, Pietro and Greg.
"So then you're Mica's cousin?" Pietro asked.
Cody nodded, "Yup, one year older."
"Cool."
A swift movement of color distracted Cody for a split second. He realized it was the Wanda girl he'd met the day before. "Wanda!" he called.
"What are you, crazy?" Pietro asked, "my sister is insane."
"She's your sister?" Cody asked, unable to see the resemblance.
Wanda walked up to him, "What? You want to insult me some more?"
"Only if ya want meh too."
Pietro frowned, "The two of you know each other already?"
Wanda sat next to Pietro, across from Cody and Greg, "you could say that."
Cody rolled his eyes, "You're just proving that you're hostile."
Wanda crossed her arms, "Both were negative utopias, Huxley chose to press the message that ignorance is bliss while Orwell used a more complex ignorance is bliss and hell. In fact by the end of 1984 Orwell still doesn't answer the question of whether or not Big Brother was being played or if Big Brother was in complete control. Either way the book still reflects modern society."
Pietro and Greg looked confused. Cody nodded, "Good."
Wanda frowned, "That's it? Good? I analyzed the hell out of those books!"
Cody nodded, "True but they weren't that hard to analyze." Wanda clenched her fists and Pietro winced, "Howevah Ah commend you foh actually finishing 1984, most people of your caliber choose ta believe it's a dry book and nevah get passed the first chapter." Cody quickly moved his tray of food out of her grasp and smiled as she got up and stormed off.
Greg looked at Cody in disbelief, "Dude do you just have a death wish?"
* * *
"Dominic concentrate harder."
Dominic concentrated his mind on the small expanse of land around him. Finally he relaxed, "I can't."
Erik frowned, "Dominic obviously you are perfectly capable of using your abilities, you just lack the motivation."
"Or maybe what happened was a one time thing."
Erik thought back to Irene's journals, "Not likely." At the look of despair in the boy's eyes Erik said, "Don't worry, take a ten minute break and we'll resume this lesson."
Nodding, Dominic hurried into the house from the backyard to find something cold to drink. Once at the fridge he noticed a note from Marie;
Hey mama, I'm hanging out with friends I'll be home soon.
Dominic grimaced, he hadn't thought of that. Now Mica would know he had lied to her. Oh well, he'd make it up to her somehow.
* * *
Carly ran her hands through her thick black hair. Truth be told, these
social situations made her a bit nervous. She looked around at her peers running around, acting crazed and wished she could join in. She felt a little awkward, sitting at the lake not doing anything. She wished Marie and Mica would just show up already.
"Hey Carly!"
Speak of those devils. Carly stood up, "Heya guys."
Marie and Mica immediately caught the familiar look of relief on their friend's face. They knew how Carly felt about social situations. Carly had once told them that on top of her social anxiety she felt out of place being the only black girl in Caldecott, Mississippi.
"So Mica what's with you and Dominic?" Carly asked.
Mica smiled, "We finally frenched."
Carly clapped her hands.
Mica bowed in exaggerated pride. "But it was cut short by that weird earthquake."
"How about it," Carly teased, "You're first French kiss caused an earthquake!"
Mica laughed.
Marie laughed a little, covering up how uncomfortable the turn in conversation was making her.
"Hey gals!"
They turned to see Cody walking up to them. Marie locked eyes with him and he winked, making her blush.
"Cody, my dear cousin, where have you been?"
"Making that Wanda gal mad." He admitted.
The three girls looked at him in horror.
"Why would you do something insane like that?" Mica asked.
"She actually came?" Marie asked.
Cody smiled sheepishly, "Making her mad is amusing and," he turned his blue eyes onto Marie's green ones, "Ah insisted that she come."
Marie nodded, "She needs to be more social anyway."
Cody turned on a megawatt smile for Marie, "Ah thought so too."
"Cody have you any idea who you are going to the dance with?" Carly asked.
Cody was taken aback by the question, "No, why?"
Carly nudged Marie a little, earning a glare from Marie.
"No reason," Carly said quickly.
Cody looked a little confused but couldn't respond as Pietro grabbed his arm and dragged him off.
"Hey!" Carly yelled, "We were talking to him!"
"Well we need him to play football!" Pietro yelled back.
"See ya'll later!" Cody yelled.
Carly turned to Marie, "He's definitely crushing on you."
Marie shook her head, "Carly you're reading signs wrong."
Mica cut in, "No I think she's right Marie. My cousin has never looked at a girl like that before." She put her hands in her pockets, "Besides he keeps asking about you."
Marie brushed a strand of curly, auburn, hair behind her ear. "Ya'll are insane."
* * *
Wanda watched the teenagers around her in amusement. Usually things like this weren't her thing, or so she told herself, but to observe people talking about random things and taking stupid bets was fun. She looked down at the field where Cody was playing football. He was one of the weirdest people she had ever met. He actually challenged her on every point, just a few minutes he had been arguing with her over whether or not she dressed the way she did to scare people away. Of course he had shot down her every point but she admired that.
Wanda looked over where Marie was sitting with her friends and sighed. Shy little Marie could make friends so why the hell couldn't she?
* * *
Dominic smiled in triumph. Erik nodded his approval and Irene just winced looking at the property damage Dominic had caused.
"Good job my boy," Erik praised.
Dominic beamed, "Thanks Erik."
Irene congratulated him too, "Nice work Dominic, can't wait to tell Raven."
* * *
"Oh no, look who's coming." Carly said in a quieted voice.
Marie glanced up to see Wanda walking over to them. "Hey Wanda."
Wanda gave her what looked to be a very painful smile.
"Um, hi Wanda," Mica said a little nervously, wondering if Wanda's face would crack from the smile.
"How are you three?" Wanda asked.
"Alright," Carly told her, a little confused. "You?"
"I'm good."
Marie dug the tow of her shoe into the ground as an uncomfortable silence descended upon the girls.
"So," Mica spoke up, "Wanda are you planning on going to the dance with anyone?"
"There's a dance?" Wanda asked.
"Hey, that's what Ah said," Marie told her.
Wanda smiled, "I guess we both need to keep up with the goings on at school."
"Well," Carly spoke up, "I was telling Marie that she should go with Cody because he obviously likes her."
Marie didn't miss the flash in Wanda's eyes but before she could tell what it meant it was gone.
"Cody huh? Well I guess he's alright," Wanda told her.
Marie rolled her eyes, "Not you too."
"Well we all know that Mica and Dominic will go together," Wanda said, catching a seemingly guilty expression on Marie's face.
"If they don't break up first," Carly teased.
"Hey!" Mica exclaimed.
"Well you two do break up more than anyone Ah know," Marie told her.
"And over the craziest things," Wanda added.
"Its true," Carly told her.
"Fine, fine," Mice admitted, "but at least we always forgive each other."
"Yeah, at least," Marie agreed.
Carly stretched her limbs, "Hey do any of you want to go swimming?"
Marie immediately shook her head, "Not particularly."
Mica looked at her friend sympathetically. "Yeah it's a little chilly."
Wanda grimaced, the thought of having to reapply her makeup horrifying her, "Yeah, too cold." Carly rolled her eyes, "Well I'm not going alone." "I'll go with you." The girls jumped as the voice boomed behind them. "Pietro, you ass!" Wanda exclaimed. "What?" He asked innocently, "I'm not allowed to talk to you guys?" "What happened to your game?" Mica asked. "Got bored with it." "In other words you were losing and couldn't stand it." Wanda pushed his buttons. "Hey!" Pietro cried indignantly, "I never lose anything! I just got bored, and anyway I was talking to Carly." He turned to her, "Carly I wanna go swimming." She shrugged, "Did you bring swim trunks?" He shook his head, "I'll just use these shorts." He smiled, "Unless you wanna go skinny dipping." She blushed, "Shut up and follow me." "Yeah he was definitely losing," Mica said after they left. "Cody was probably kicking their asses." "A little confident in your cousin aren't ya?" Marie asked. "Cody's your cousin?" Wanda asked. "Yup," Mica answered, wondering why Wanda should care. "Oh, and he was already playing JV football his freshman year, he was a starter." "His freshman year?" Wanda asked confused, "I thought he was a freshman now." "Nope, he's a sophomore."
"Why did he move down here anyway?"
"His parents got divorced," Mica told her.
"Oh."
Marie switched topics, "Did ya evah read that book Ah gave ya?"
Wanda's eyes brightened, "Yeah, loved it, though I thought it was a little trippy."
"Good, ya should read Frankenstein next."
"I've seen the movie."
Marie shook her head, "Not the same."
Mica rolled her eyes, "Marie stop trying to turn everyone into a bookworm."
"Hey, books rock."
"Now you sound like one of those crazy posters at school."
* * *
Cody looked around the field, the game was over, his team had dominated. He loved the feeling football gave him.
"Great job man!" One of the other boys slapped him on the back.
Cody nodded, "Thanks."
Out of the corner of his eyes he saw Wanda with Marie and Mica. He decided to go over to them.
"Yeah ya'll."
Three pairs of eyes looked at him.
"Cody what do you think? Is reading a waste of time?"
"Mica, reading rocks."
"Now you sound like Marie."
Marie smiled a little and Cody's mind went blank. All he could do was nod.
Wanda looked at Cody and felt a little jealous. She frowned, why should she be jealous? "Well Marie and I took the position that reading is important and your dear cousin here keeps telling us that reading is a waste of time because of the other things we could be getting out and doing."
Cody dropped his voice and whispered, "Well don't tell Mica this o' anything but she'd completely insane."
"Hey!" Mica hit him on the arm.
"What?" Cody asked innocently, "Ah didn't say anything."
"You are such a dork."
* * *
A few hours later Wanda found herself talking several people she was sure she didn't know. She felt completely in her comfort zone. She hadn't ever thought she would actually like talking to her peers but there she was sharing stories and laughing at jokes. A few people had even complimented her style and if it wasn't for the fact that they were punkers she might have doubted their sincerity.
She could see Marie further away talking to Cody and felt that jealousy start to rise again. She mentally kicked herself; Cody wasn't hers. Still, she would love to have him look at her that way.
She turned back to the conversation when someone made mention of a Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert.
"Ah hear they're coming to Mississippi in a few weeks!" Sandra exclaimed.
"Where are they performing?" Rob asked.
The girl told the awaiting group of teenagers.
"That's not even that far away!" Rob said excitedly.
Wanda had to admit, she liked the Peppers but she didn't know a lot of their material, just what was on the radio.
"Man, there's no way I'm going to be able to convince mah parents ta let meh go," Nick said disappointed.
"Hey its getting dark," Sandra said.
Wanda shivered a little, her clothes were definitely not made for cold weather. It was times like this that she had to admit that dressing like Marie would be beneficial. She felt a jacket being draped over her shoulders and looked up to see Cody.
"Ah saw that ya were cold," he told her.
She smiled, genuinely, "Thank you."
"Do ya want meh ta walk ya home?" he asked.
"Yeah."
* * *
"So ya like all that witchcraft stuff?"
Both of them were in Wanda's room.
Wanda nodded, "Yup, but it's not 'witchcraft' its art."
Cody nodded, "Ah guess ya would know better than Ah would."
"Yup, I would."
"There's that defensiveness again," Cody said with a smile.
Wanda laughed, "Oh Cody its got nothing to do with defensiveness and more to do with my knowing everything."
"Mah mistake."
Wanda noticed how close they were sitting for the first time. She could feel his thigh brushing up against hers and looking into his beautiful blue eyes she felt a little lightheaded. His lips got closer to hers and she closed her eyes slowly. His lips were softer than anything she had ever felt and she felt herself kissing him back with more ease than she had thought possible.
When they finally broke apart Wanda was stunned. Cody wet his lips a little nervously and smiled, "Well if ya know everything then ya had ta know that was coming."
* * *
"So your nightmares have been involving this stream?" Dominic was trying to make sense of what Marie was telling him.
She nodded, "It doesn't matter what's happening, but mah nightmares are always here."
Dominic put his arms around her, "You know they aren't real right?"
"Of course Ah do, Ah'm not stupid."
"I know, I just don't want you to have any phobias because of these strange dreams."
Marie leaned into him, "Ah'm glad Ah have ya ta talk ta Dom cuz Ah'm not sure anyone else would get it."
He absently ran his fingers through her curly hair, noting that it was soft. "No worries Marie, I will always be here for you."
Marie nodded then shot a bright smile into his face, "That's why Ah'm glad Erik decided ta adopt ya."
At the mention of his mentor's name Dominic's face brightened, "Did I tell you what happened earlier?"
"No," Marie said noting his excitement, "What happened?"
"I learned how to use my powers!"
"Oh Dom, congratulations," she threw her arms around him and held him.
Dominic didn't mind, he could smell the sweet scent of lilacs in her hair and thanked Herbal Essences for making such strong shampoo.
Marie broke Dominic's thoughts when she looked up at him, "Now we're all set ta go on those missions."
Dominic nodded absently and moved a strand of hair from her face. He felt his palms start to sweat and his heart felt like it might explode but he got closer to her anyway. God, how those gorgeous green eyes were calling to him.
Marie felt her breath catch in her throat and her smiled started to fade as she realized what he was doing. Against her better judgment she felt herself being drawn in towards him. A mental image of a moth and a flame arose in her mind but she quickly extinguished it, finding it easier to concentrate on Dominic's beautiful brown eyes.
His lips were just a breath from hers when she stepped away.
"No Dom, we can't," she murmured.
"Why not?" he asked softly.
"Mica."
Those two syllables slapped Dominic in the face. He let his arms drop in defeat and he attempted to smile, "Come on, we're probably late for dinner."
* * *
Wanda noticed that Marie and Dominic's places were vacant, probably out in the yard. Actually she and cody were the first people at the table. She turned her attention back to Cody. He was talking about some of his favorite places in Caldecott, ones that he remembered from living here years ago.
"Yeah, the Wreck is still up, though its been remodeled about a million times in the last few years." She was telling him, "Actually they are having a grand re-opening soon, do you want to go?"
"Definitly!"
Irene walked into the room, "Hi Wanda, who's your friend?"
"Hi Irene," Wanda looked at Cody, "This is my dad's friend Irene Adler."
Cody stood up, "Mah name is Cody," he shook her hand, "Pleased to meet you Miss Adler."
Irene looked at him in approval, "Same here Cody." She seated herself at the already set table, "Where is everyone else?"
"I'm here," Erik walked in and seated himself as well. Having already been introduced to Cody earlier he was not surprised to see him.
Raven, or rather Hillary, walked in seconds later and took a seat as well. Seeing Cody she opened her mouth to ask who he was but Wanda beat her to it.
"Hillary this is my friend Cody, he just moved back to Caldecott. Cody this is Hillary Farmer, she lives here with her daughter."
Cody smiled and joked, "Are there more people that Ah didn't see befoh or are they hiding?"
Raven laughed, "It sure feels that way around here sometimes."
Erik nodded, "Yeah, there are still THREE OTHER PEOPLE WHO NEED TO GET THEIR BUTTS DOWN TO THE DINNER TABLE!"
Irene winced, "Erik please don't yell, I doubt the children respond to it anyway."
"Alright! Alright!" Pietro exclaimed running down the stairs, "I'm coming."
Erik looked at Irene in triumph.
"Fine, you get one point," Irene told him.
Cody watched their antics, amused.
"Geez, Erik we could hear you yell from all the way outside."
Cody looked up in surprise as Marie and Dominic walked in.
"Just take your seats so we can eat!" Pietro exclaimed, "I'm starving."
"Then why weren't you down here on time?" Erik asked.
Pietro opened his mouth then shut it.
Wanda rolled her eyes, "Pietro you are so stupid."
"Don't call me stupid."
"Wanda don't call your brother stupid." Erik chastised.
"Yeah, just because he was dropped on his head as a baby-" Dominic started.
"Hey!" Dominic exclaimed as everyone laughed.
Wanda noticed Cody's confused expression, "Oh yeah, Cody, you know Marie, she's Hillary's daughter. And Dominic is my foster brother."
* * *
Cody and Wanda stood on the front porch. "Well Ah guess Ah should say good night."
Wanda nodded, "I guess we should."
Cody leaned in and kissed Wanda on the cheek, "Ah'll see ya at school."
Wanda smiled as she watched him leave.
* * *
"Pietro!" Dominic came storming into Pietro's room.
By the looks of things Pietro had been talking to someone on the phone but as soon as Dominic burst into the room he had covered the mouthpiece with his hand.
"What do you want Dominic?" Pietro sounded annoyed.
"What did you do with my shoes?"
Pietro rolled his eyes, "Dominic I would never be caught dead wearing those ratty chucks, Nikes are in. Besides its night, why would you need them right now?"
Dominic didn't answer, just left the room. His next stop was the kitchen. On instinct he looked under the sink and went through the trash. Just as he had suspected, some one had thrown away his favorite shoes. Grabbing them he ran to Erik's room and knocked on the door.
The older man opened his door to find the teenager holding the old pair of shoes. "I'm sorry Dominic but I had to do it. I begged you for a month to throw those old things away but you chose to ignore me."
"But they're my babies!" Dominic exclaimed.
"Buy new shoes, I hear Nikes are in."
"Ahhhh!" Dominic let out an exasperated cry and stormed off to his room. Slamming the door he was surprised to find Marie sitting on his bed. "Marie?"
"Ah tried to sleep but Ah had another nightmare," she sniffled.
Dominic sat on the bed, lying her down, and held her until she fell asleep.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
La de da! I've completed what's probably my longest freakin' chapter! Lets take a look at the reviews!
LiLRoguE: I'LL UPDATE! I'LL UPDATE! YOU MONSTER! LOL. Thanks for the compliment!
Elrohirthewriter: Your guess might be right on the mark, or it might not be. I can't tell you though I'm dying to.
Panther Nesmith: Love that I've made you so happy! They better all respect Irene or she'll beat the hell out of all of them! ::turns to Irene:: Are you happy now Irene? ::Irene nods:: She's happy. Yeah I have got to get around to explaining Sinister soon or I might drive a few of my readers insane, hell I might drive myself insane. He he he, cookie jars and hand grenades, I'm going to remember that one!
Blueclover: No, thank you for reading. He he, you read my mind, X-Men Cameos. There will probably be more of them as this story progresses but for now you have X-men in Marie's dreams. Anyway, welcome to the mix and I sincerely hope you post another review!
Ishandahalf: Freakin' Awesome! Another Clash fan! You, me, and Panther (see above), should join some kind of club, or cult. How do you think I dealt with the confused kids? Think I was too harsh? Back to the Clash, Joe Strummer was freakin' awesome I just wish I could have seen the Clash in concert but alas tis too late. And on that depressing note I hope you love the remaining chapters of my story.
Caliente: I'm not really sure Lila Cheney was ever a reporter. I know there was someone in the X-Men (Beast's girlfriend) who was a reporter but I couldn't remember her name so I used Lila's. I'll have to look up the real girl soon. I'll be sure to let you know if it does freakishly turn out to be Lila. Stereotypes really do sick, especially if you're Marie, although I found the situation fascinating as well. Its so sad that I can keep myself amused like that. Just out of curiosity what does (sp) mean? I'm not fluent in internet speak, sadly enough. Glad you decided to join the twisted zone that I call my fanfiction! Please post another review!
Tammy: My dear old friend. I can always count on you to post a review! Marie and Dominic are making more and more sense to me so I'm glad you like their friendship. As for New kids, I really don't remember them much. I actually didn't start to hear a lot about them until after they were popular.
If I forgot to thank anyone or if I made some kind of mistake while I was responding to your review, I apologize it's like one in the morning and I've lost it completely but as usual I LOVE MY READERS AND REVIEWERS!
Stay tuned for the next chapter: The kids go on their first mission, you can't miss it!