Newcomers

"Well, me and Penance were in the basement setting up their new room. You know, after we moved to New York. Anyway, I was setting up some of the important stuff, posters, magazines etcetera and they were sitting in their chair when this weird thing fell out of one of the boxes. It was this weird looking metallic disk thing. Well, I threw it out the window when Penance ran for it. Then the next thing I know my sisters are both there. I tried looking for the disk thingy the next day, but it disappeared. I couldn't find it anywhere." Monet St. Croix paced the floor of the parlor in the Hellfire Club's mansion. Emma, Sean, Betsy, and Kurt sat scattered across the room listening to her tell the story of how her twin sisters got separated.

"Wait," Betsy stopped her and looked at the twins, who were sitting in a small corner.

"How did you know what it was?" The others turned their heads to them and waited for the reply.

"We didn't," Nicole started standing up. "But you know, when your trapped an animal's body you tend to act like one."

"And," Claudette continued. "Well shiny things are cool."

"Did I ever tell you I liked you?" Emma joked. "Well, the important thing is your separated. so why are you here? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're here but... why now? Just to tell us the good news." At that moment Nicole and Claudette clasped hands. Their dark skin instantly turned a rough red color, their black shining hair grouped together and changed color like her skin.

Monet turned to face the others. "May I introduce Blaze and Blade. The good thing about this is they can actually talk... unlike the old one."

"Yeah, the upside," the two twins laughed at their inside joke and straightened up when they noticed that no one else was laughing.

"Okay," Betsy exclaimed finally. "But that still doesn't answer the question. Do you three need someplace to stay?" she asked.

"That's one thing," Monet started. "Another thing is I need excitement. That's one of the main reasons I started street racing, but that's not the point. I need something to do like the old days. I went to Xavier's mansion and asked for Emma but this girl with blue hair told me were you were. So, I came to join with you guys."

"Okay then. We'll get you situated with a room," Sean responded and shook her hand.

"Welcome to the team."

Josh Foley laid on his bed holding his cell phone in his hand. Sofia Barret and Sydney Porinsa sat in small chairs while flipping through their different fashion magazines. "Josh just call her," Sofia nudged at him. "It isn't like she's going to hang up on you. We haven't seen them in two weeks. The others will probably want to talk to you too."

"I don't know," he sighed. "What if she doesn't remember?"

Sydney straightened up as she answered, " Well if she doesn't remember you two were going out than you probably aren't a very good boyfriend." Josh glared at her and then switched back to his helpless face. "Just call her or I will."

"Okay, Okay. I'll call her," Josh answered dialing a number into his phone. He put the phone to his face and glared at Sydney. "It's not like you even know her," he retorted as the phone rang.

"This is Laurie. Sorry I can't get to the phone right now but I'll call you back...probably."

"Yeah, hey, Laurie, It's Josh. I was just calling to ask you something so...if you could call me back, we can talk." Josh shut his phone and threw it behind him. "She's not there." At that moment the cell rang and he reached for it. "It's her," he said with a panic.

"Then answer it," Sofia said tossing her magazine aside to pay attention to the gossip unfolding in front of her.

"Hello? Hey! Yeah, I'm good. How are you? That's good. Yeah well...Sofia and I were wondering if you, David, and Noriko wanted to come over here. Yeah Moonstar changed her mind. No, I meant to stay. Yeah okay. Just don't let Dani figure out I told you to come. Yeah. Okay. Love you too. Bye."

"Oh! You love her!" Sofia exclaimed jokingly. Josh shot her a look but the two girls kept laughing. "Whoa!" she stopped laughing and looked at him. "You told her Moonstar changed her mind."

"Whoa, you catch on quick," he retorted walking to the window sill where he sat down.

"But Moonstar didn't change her mind. She still fights with us to go back!! When she finds oust that you called them she's going to be pissed. And, to help that, she already going to start having mood swings because she's..." Sofia stopped herself realizing she almost spilt the beans.

"She's what?" Josh pried.

"Nothing, it's a girl thing," she covered as she picked up her magazine and motioned to Sydney that she was leaving. "Anyway, she'll be made and your butt will be bruised." With that she shut the door behind her and Sydney.

"There is someone at the door Miss, and since your quarters are so close I figured you would like to..." the guard's voice trailed off as he realized he'd dug himself into a hole.

Monet stood up off the sofa that was set at the foot of her bed and spoke, "It's okay. Who is it?" she asked pulling her long black hair back into a ponytail.

"WE don't know. She won't identify herself Miss...?"

"Matrix. You can just call me Matrix," she said as she patted him on the chest as she walked through the door to her new room . She walked a couple of feet to the front door. When the door opened the blonde young woman standing there turned to see if she was now able to go in. At first the two woman stared at each other then the next instant they were hugging. "Paige! I haven't seen you in years," Matrix said joyfully as the two finally broke apart.

"I know, I've been in France for the past year, and I just got back," Paige said.

"Our little country girl was in France?" Monet joked bringing back old memories.

"Yeah, I lost most of my accent," she joked. "I was there studying...stuff," she said plainly remembering how science bored her old friend. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much. We moved to New York last year, and I've kept busy."

"I just came by to see if Sam was here," Paige started. "But I guess we could catch up a bit first."

"That's alright," Monet reassured as she motioned Paige inside the mansion. Then she turned the guard from earlier. "Will you please go get Mr. Guthrie? Tell him his sister is here." The guard hurried up the grand stair case to fetch Sam. Monet and Paige walked to the large entertainment parlor. Minutes later Sam, Danielle, Emma, and Sean walked into the room. Paige stood and hugged her older brother.

"I missed you so much!" he said as they continued to hug. When they parted he continued,

"You remember Dani?"

"Yeah," she answered as her and Dani hugged slightly. "Ms. Frost, Mr. Cassidy!" Paige hugged Emma and then Sean. "So...Sam said ya'll have a proposal. What's up?" The six sat down and Emma laid down a file on the coffee table. Paige picked it up and looked it over. "Your being funded by the government? What for?"

"Protecting the country against mutant rights activist and terrorist," Sean answered. "We separated from the X-Men who are now going to be participating in terrorist acts. We were wondering if you would like to be a part of the Hellfire Club."

Paige was silent. In her head she rumbled through all the pros and cons. Finally she spoke,

"Alright. I'm in." Everyone smiled and stood to shake their new partners hand.

"Louis, could you please find Ms. Guthrie a room and get her unpacked an situated." A guard that was standing at the door motioned for Paige to follow him as he walked upstairs. She started to follow but turned around.

"When I was looking over the list it said Nicole and Claudette St. Croix. What's up with that?" she asked Monet.

"Ummm....I'll tell you later. Right now you can go get comfortable in your new room, okay?"

"What about that pink car in the garage who's is that?"

"Well we have a lot of catching up to do."

The red headed Scottish man sat at his desk looking over the list of members on the club. He had memorized the list but still...there was something wrong with the it. He felt like something was missing. He didn't know what it was but it was something. Maybe there wasn't anything wrong. Then it hit him. Paige and Monet were there. Paige sweet, Monet spice. But the thing that was missing was sweet and spicy. Jubilee wasn't there. Sean quickly picked up the phone and called information. "Los Angeles please. Jubilation Lee. Thank you."

In a small one bedroom apartment just outside L. A. the phone rang softly. "Great." Jubilee strolled lightly down the hallway from the bathroom into the kitchen. Wrapping the towel around her chest she picked up the phone. "Jubes here. Can I help you?" she asked making the frustration in her voice noticeable. "Mr. Cassidy? Wow. Ummm...How are you ? I'm good, I just finished this semester so... What? Are you serious? How can we not talk about it over the phone? I live in California. Just in case you haven't noticed SEAN, that is clear across the country. What? Free tickets? Okay I'll start packing. See you soon. Bye," and with that Jubilee hung up the phone and floated back to her bathroom.

"Who was that?" Emma asked after she closed the door to Banshee's office. She placed herself in the red cushioned chair facing the desk and put her hands on top of her crossed legs.

"That, my dear, was Jubilation Lee. I called her and asked her to come up here. She's getting on a plane tomorrow." Sean stopped when he noticed Emma's face. "You think it's a bad idea?"

"No... Well, actually I don't know. Maybe it won't be so bad. I'd love to see her don't get me wrong but having all three of them together, especially the two, could cause problems...big problems," Emma answered.

"I'm sure it will be fine. Look at Monet. She's all grown up and even taking care of the twins, and Paige went to Paris for a science exploration. Jubes just told me that she finished her semester, they're grown adults. That's actually frightening thing."

"Mr. Cassidy, you know very well that I am not afraid of anything. But...if I were, they would be it," Emma teased as she stood up and moved behind the desk to rub his shoulders.

"Emma, it will be okay. They've matured. It'll be fine, lass, just you see."

Dim orange light spilled out of a single door into the empty shaded hallway. Silently three figures edged their way out the door and down the hall. When they reached the end of the corridor, they made their way down the stairs to the first story of Xavier's Mansion. After mazing thought the building they finally reached their destination. The garage was deserted and the stench of oil filled the teenagers' nostrils. Turning on the flashlight they had been afraid to use before, they found their way to an old beat up pick-up parked near one of the large doors. "David, I'm not sure about this. I mean we're going to be gone and so is the truck. It doesn't take long to put two and two together." Laurie stood outside the truck pleaded her case for the three of them to stay.

"Laurie, you heard Cyclops yourself. They don't even want the truck here. So we're actually doing them a favor, and we don't have to walk the whole way," David responded nudging Laurie lightly toward the automobile. "Now get in."

"How exactly do you plan on starting it without a key?" she asked as she hopped in the backseat.

"By the magic of mutation," Noriko answered as she pulled her celtic blue hair up into a ponytail in the back of her head. She slightly touched the ignition with the tip of her fingers and a narrow blue streak of electricity entered the small chamber and the engine struggled to life. Then she adjusted the shift and pressed down the pedal. The truck thumped out of the garage and turned out onto the public road.

"I can't believe we just stole a truck," Laurie said with anxiety in her voice.

"I can't we did it and Josh was here or the one to think about it," David interrupted trying to keep the ride to the Hellfire Club mansion positive. A silence filled the cab and the only think that could be heard was the loud obnoxious exhaust pipe in the back. Noriko sensed the discomfort and reached for the radio. She gingerly turned the tuner trying to find a good station to listen to. Finally she found a satisfying rock station and the teens seemed to be more at ease. "Laurie its not a date you know," David started as he looked back at the blonde who was adjusting her makeup in the backseat. "You don't have to look perfect just because Josh is going to be there. I know you haven't seen him in a long time, but now...we're going to live there."

"You don't understand," she responded shutting her compact with a loud snap. "And anyways we have to make a good impression on the new girl. A first impression is always the best."

"Oh...." Noriko said looking in the rear view mirror at her friend. "You don't actually think that he likes her do you? Because Sofia told me that she doesn't even really like him at all. But since she's friends with Sofia she tries to be as nice as she can." Another awkward filled the truck until it Surge spoke up. " Okay so where do I go from here?" she asked slowing down so she wouldn't miss a turn.

"I think we're supposed to go left here and then like five streets later you turn left again," David answered looking at the quick instructions Sofia had given them along time ago. "And she said you should be able to see it from there."

"How are we supposed to know what it looks like?" Laurie asked.

"Believe me. You'll know," Noriko answered.

"Whoa...How would you know?" David asked looking at her.

"I've never been inside the place but once when I was little I tried to run away there after I saw it on a bus ride. I walked all the way here from the city and decided that the guards weren't going to let me in no matter how cute I looked." With that she turned the wheel and the truck screeched onto 5th avenue.

"Okay. I was expecting some large beautiful mansion. They all are large and beautiful. How are we supposed to tell?"

The three kept looking out the windows until Noriko pointed on the left side of the road. "That's it right there," she said as she turned in. The truck was greeted by a huge metallic steel gate with the letters H and C intertwined in the center. "Wow! It's even better then I remember," she whispered as it opened and more of the mansion was revealed.

"Oh my gosh. This is like twice the size of Xavier's." Laurie said with her mouth gaping wide open. "And we are going to live here." The three continued to stare as the truck slowly approached an information booth ahead. Laurie didn't seem to notice until she looked outside the opposite window and screamed when she saw a golden face looking into the car.

"Laurie! shut up!" David yelled as he turned around. "It's just the guards. Holy cow, calm down." Laurie made a mocking face behind his back once he turned around.

"Yes, Hi," Noriko started when another guard approached her. "We're expected."

"Name?" he ordered looking at his clipboard.

"Noriko Ashida, David Alleyne, and Laurie Collins."

"Here to see Josh Foley. Can I see your IDs?"

Noriko handed him her driver's license and looked at the others signaling them for their own. David quickly got his out of his wallet and passed it by Noriko and to the guard who inspected it and gave it back. Then looked in the back at Laurie who was fumbling through her purse. "Laurie come on..." Noriko pried as she sensed the guard's patience running short.

"Found it," she shouted as she passed it up. The guard went through the inspection and gave it back motioning them to go ahead. "Don't you think it's weird how we're under Josh's name and not Moonstar's?" Wallflower asked as Surge parked the car under the car-port in front of the mansion.

"I wouldn't think about it that much," David answered as he grabbed his bag from the bed. "I mean he was the one who called us anyway."

The three walked up to the door and Noriko rung the door-bell. After a few moments the door opened slowly.

"What are you three doing here?" Moonstar's face was far from emotionless. It was filled with joy, anger, confusion, relief, and more to complex for words. "Ya'll are supposed to be at Xavier's, in bed, and sleeping."

"What?" The three were just as confused why she wasn't leaping for joy that her students were there. "Josh said that you wanted us to come..." Before Laurie could finish Moonstar turned to one of the guards stationed at the door.

"Will you please go get Josh Foley? He's in room 30. Oh...and if the girls are in there to have them come down." The guard turned until Moonstar stopped him again. "And sound mean. Please."

"Aren't you happy to see us?" Noriko asked once the guard was oust of ear-shot.

"Yes and no. I'm glad to see you just not here and now...and with bags," she answered as Laurie dropped her make-up case to relieve her arms of the strain. Before the teenagers could respond Rahne walked up.

"You're here! And with bags. You guys stayin'?" she opened the front door wider motioning for them to come in and make themselves at home. "Good to see ya'll." Then she turned to Dani. "Whoa...What's wrong with you? I pictured you bursting out with happiness now that their here. You know since you haven't shut-up about how worried you were about them." She turned back at the three teens. "Actually she's been talking about her and Sam more than ya'll. Ya'll knew they were together now right? Maybe not ya'll have been gone for so long."

"Rahne! Please!" Dani yelled causing her friend to stop rambling. "And what are you so happy about anyway?"

"She met a fella," Laurie answered for her stepping forward. "So, who is it?"

"Ah...Crap." The conversation was quickly broken when everyone turned to the stairs where Sofia, Sydney and Josh stood. Josh having just spoke louder than he wished he would have smiled innocently as he walked over to the rest with the girls on his heels. "Hey guys, What are ya'll doing here?" Sydney started laughing at Josh's pathetic attempt to cover his tracks. "Have you met Sydney?" He turned to Dani. "They haven't met Sydney. You all meet, talk , socialize, get to know each other better."

"Josh." Dani said firmly.

"Yes dearest headmistress?"

"What did you do?" she asked just as firmly. "Why are they here with bags?" Noriko stepped forward to answer but was stopped by Dani putting her arm out in front of her. "No. No. I want to here it from Josh." Josh looked around and pointed at himself with a questioning expression laid on his face. "Yes. You."

"Okay. Well its really a funny story," he started. "You see, I called Laurie. You know Laurie. Well and you know, I haven't seen these guys in a long...long...long time. So...I kinda told her that you wanted them to come back here." When he didn't see Dani's face change he quickly started back up again, "Because you love them, and missed them, and Xavier's an awful person and...and... I'm sorry. You remember when you told us all those stories about when ya'll were students? Well, you said that one of the only things that kept you together was friendship. So, I had to get my friends back." Sydney looked at Sofia with an impressed look on her face.

"I'm impressed. Not with your story but that you were listening," Josh and the others winced back ready for their reprimand when Dani started to laugh and hug David, Laurie,and Noriko. Then she turned to Rahne, "Will you go tell Emma that we have some newcomers."

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The next morning's sun shone brightly into Monet's bedroom as she reached for the ringing phone at her bedside. "Hello?" she asked as she held the phone to her ear. "Ah...You again. What can I do for you this time? Is there someone at the door again?" she joked with the guard at the other end of the phone. "At the airport? Who? Jubilee? Are you serious? No, No, no, no limo. I'll go pick her up myself. Thank you for calling. Bye" Matrix pushed back the covers and leaped for her bathroom.

An hour or so later Monet emerged from her bedroom. She was wearing a white form-fitting halter top that revealed her pierced navel, and skin tight black leather pants that slightly flared at the bottom. As she walked down the grand staircase her many bracelets and loose belt clinked and clanked, as her large hoop earrings swung from side to side. Her black straight hair was adorned here and there with silver tube-like clips. All the eyes in the front room were on her, the members and even the guards stared as she walked to the front door. She go tin her RX-8 and started out of the property and to down town New York City.

Minutes later she was st the airport and holding a small sign that read, "Jubilation Lee." It would be a strange sight, all these old men wearing black suits and black drivers caps standing to a hott young woman. When groups of people started to come down the steps from the terminal Monet straightened up and held up the sign for her old friend to see. She could barely make her out, since she was struggling to see over all the taller people which seemed to be standing in front of her on purpose. Finally Jubilee saw the sign and made her way toward it. She paused for a second waiting for some of the people to disperse then continued forward. She pushed her way through the crowd until she finally reached the sign. "Monet!!!" she dropped her bags and ran forward with her arms wide open. Monet returned the favor as the two swayed back and forth.

"Oh my gosh! Your hair is so long!" Monet exclaimed as the two separated. It wasn't really that long but for Jubilee it was. Her black locks were streaked with pink, purple, blue, green and yellow and it barely reached her chest. Anyone would guess she was from L. A. if they saw her. She was wearing a light blue knee-length skirt that was trimmed with darker shaded fluff, and over her white tank top she wore a mesh poncho that was also trimmed with the fluff. Surprisingly enough her knee high boots weren't trimmed but were just plain white leather. Matrix could tell she spent just as much time in front of the mirror as she did herself.

"Look at you!!" Jubilee returned. "Your so...different. In a good way," she added not wanting to but a damper on the reunion. "Shall we get going?" she asked as she picked up her bags.

"Yeah I'm right outside," Monet answered helping her with one of her bags.

When Jubilee walked outside she noticed the pink car, as everyone would. "Man, wouldn't I love to ride in that thing."

Monet turned around and answered, "You are. It's mine."

Jubilee looked surprised. "First the look now the car. If I didn't know an better then I would assume you were a street racer or something." She placed her bags in the small cramped trunk.

"Oh...I was..or...I am."

The next chapter is where the plot of the story with be coming into view. Thanks.