Look! I'm not dead! Wooo! I'm just distracted by life. And Pixie sticks… Mostly Pixie Sticks! Heh… I'm not too fond of this chapter… I dunno… It just seems kinda pointless… Oh well…
Can't forget my reviewers!
Howlerdrode: World conquerors have to have their minions brainwashed! It's the comic book way! And yeah, viruses are gone! I got a new computer. Only problem with is that the CD drive won't read a lot of my hardware files like my pictures or music. So… Lil is unhappy ;.;
Multifan: Heh, hopefully my viruses will stay gone on this computer, and I have McAfee on my computer which I hear is pretty good. I had Ad-Aware and Norton on my old one, but I think this works a lot better. And yeah! I finished Mayhem, but I've been suffering from like… severe ADHD or something lately. I've been up and around lately a lot. I'm working on Daytripper now! But yeah, Mary is definitely walking into a trap… in fact… next chapter! Hehe… although it is sad how much this is going to hurt her emotionally.
I'm glad I got Magneto right. He's a hard character to do . Thanks for the assurance I was writing him well enough! And muahahaha… Pietro's plan is in the next chapter.
Agent-G: DUDE! Heh, Hi! Lol I'm still wondering about how I'm going to write out the sequel… but I'm definitely keeping this story all together and not splitting it up. But anywho, I needed the sister-sister scene in the last chapter to help balance out the other sister-sister scene that's coming up (innocent look). And I'm glad I brought Amy back… it's the calm before the storm. Also, yeah… if I think it out it has been about two weeks since Mary got there… it seems longer to me o.O
Brandy Lebeau: Hola chica. I dunno if there's much humor in this chapter (I forget… it's 2 AM right now o.O) But hey! I updated! Lol.
Fireinu: Thanks for the compliments! Lol… well, here's Amy's response to it all!
Chapter 21
There was an awkward silence in Mary's room. Amy had just been told of Rogue, and of Kurt. The girl stared at Mary with narrowed eyes, as if trying to tell if her friend was lying. It was putting the two-tone on edge; she absolutely hated being stared at. She picked at her gloves and looked away, trying to shield the perusal by blocking it with her hair.
"You… have… a sister." Amy finally repeated what Mary had stated moments ago. "And you couldn't tell me this earlier?" She inquired, somewhat hurt.
"I…" Mary didn't know how to respond. "I wanted to tell you… but not over the phone. I wanted you two to be able to meet in person… I'm sorry. I should have told you as soon as I could… are you mad?" She explained, feeling like an idiot.
"Yeah… a little… but I'll get over it." Amy replied truthfully, nodding her head. "If I had known this sooner, I woulda taken a better look of her at the door before she left! I didn't see Kurt though… but I woulda taken a better look of him if I had known… and if he were there. And yeah." She finished awkwardly.
Mary grinned. Good old Amy. "Well… they'll be back in a couple of hours. And until then, we're free to do just about anything. What are you up for?" She asked.
"I dunno… what's here in Bayville? A tour of it all would be nice." The other girl guessed.
Mary's brows furrowed. Could she show Amy everything here? She trusted this girl with her life, but what would Xavier say? "Umm… I would have to get you special clearance to see everything here… but anything else would be cool." She explained.
"Well get on with it!" Amy demanded playfully. "I wanna see this oh so exciting Danger Room you've told me about."
Mary smiled worriedly. She didn't know if Xavier would give them permission. "Ok…umm… hang on." The two-tone told her as she stood and walked towards the door. "I'll go ask." She stepped outside her door and closed it, leaning against the cool wood. It would be pointless to go all the way downstairs when she could just try and contact him telepathically. "Umm… Professor?" She thought loudly, hoping to get his attention.
"Yes, Mary?" Charles Xavier replied after a moment.
"I was wondering if I could show Amy the lower levels? She's kinda intrigued by them…" Mary asked hopefully. There was a long pause before Xavier replied.
"I'm not sure. She could inadvertently activate something and render you two in trouble." He explained. Well… at least the man was honest about everything. Mary's face fell, and he sensed it. Xavier regretted his decision, for he could tell Amy meant no ill will against anyone, and was indeed just curious. Still, he didn't want to put any of them at risk. He sighed to himself, and before Mary opened the door to tell her friend there would be no tour, he grabbed her attention. "If, though, you had supervision, I suppose a tour would be acceptable." He agreed. He could feel her smile, and that made him happy.
"Thank you Professor!" Mary thanked before returning to her room. Xavier smiled to himself and mentally contacted Ororo to meet the girls at the elevator for the tour. "Oook! We have clearance. Ms. Ororo will have to go with us, but she's cool." Mary explained as she walked back into her room.
"Yes!" Amy cheered, standing and making her way over. "That's my girl… you've always had some way or another of getting what you want." She joked.
"Psh. Not here. Not with these insane kids who demand left and right. Not with Logan." Mary snorted in response as she grabbed Amy's arm and led her down the stairs and towards the elevator.
&&&&
"Dude." Amy said in awe as she stared at the computer room located above the Danger Room. "This is amazing."
"It's a pain in the butt when Logan runs the sessions…" Mary replied with a snort.
"Who designs all the programs?" She asked, switching into techie mode. She was known to do this once advanced technology made its way into her presence.
"We all do." Ororo spoke up from behind. "Well, Logan, Hank, Professor Xavier and I do. The Danger Room itself is learning technology, and creates new sessions from analyzed data. It concentrates on discovered weaknesses, and forces the mutant to work on them." She explained, walking up to the computer and punching in a code. The computer screen blinked to life, showing a headshot of Mary and giving data.
"Mary has only run a few short early sessions, and only one main one since her arrival. Nearly every time, she has been foiled by a simple mistake: smugness." Ororo said with a small smile at Mary's blush. "She feels the session has been defeated, and she lets her senses dull. She's usually taken off guard, and the computer has realized this and tries to catch her with it." The instructor informed.
Mary crossed her arms while Amy laughed. She couldn't help her cockiness, but now that Ororo pointed it out to her she set her mind on working on it. She didn't want to fail every time just because of that one fault. She had many other faults the computer could focus on. "Yeah… well… it's hard without an active power." Mary muttered.
"Yeah, well, can't you steal some and go after it all then? Who knows, maybe you'd get some common sense." Amy chuckled again. Mary glared at her for a moment, but sighed. Amy didn't know what happened when absorption took place… Mary would have to explain later and not in front of Ororo.
"Right, alright girls." Ororo spoke up, noticing the strained silence. "Shall we move on? Amy, if you enjoy all this technology, I'm sure you would enjoy the hangar. Only the Blackbird is there at the moment, but it's enough to keep you preoccupied." She smiled before leading them out of the control room.
&&&&
"Dude, and you actually get to live there and use all those things and it's totally amazing!" Amy commented for the umpteenth time at the restaurant they were eating lunch at.
"Technically, I shouldn't touch them. I could make them explode or something. You know my technology skills." Mary responded with a snort.
"Ok, then I need to come up here and live. I would get to tinker with them and it would rock like whoa." Amy corrected. Mary shook her head and took another bite of her salad.
"So, this is Bayville." Amy spoke up after a moment, staring down Main Street that was visible from their seat.
"Yeah, whole bunches of fun and whatnot. Full of discriminate jerks." Mary replied bitterly.
Amy stared at her pitifully. She knew she had gotten mocked for clinging so tightly to her mutant friend by some people, but in the end she was still considered normal. Mary, on the other hand, would be discrimated against because she was a mutant. Nothing would change that. "How bad is it up here?" She asked.
"It can be pretty bad at school if they know you are. I told you about the party I went to right? Since then… people haven't treated me the same. It kinda showed where my loyalties should lay though; I guess that's something good that came outta it." She shrugged in response.
"Yeah…" Amy agreed softly, not really knowing how to reply. "And you got a big sister out of the whole powers deal. How cool is that?" She tried to lighten the mood. It caused Mary to smile faintly, and that was at least a start.
"Pretty cool. Even though you were technically more like a sister first." She pointed out.
"Hells yeah I was, but I'm younger than you. So I'm more of the pesky but adorable little sister." Amy replied, causing Mary to grin widely. That was more like it. They continued chatting until they finished, then Mary caught the tab and they began walking down Main Street.
"So… how are things at home?" Mary asked cautiously; she was curious about her parents.
"Blah. It's boring. Everything's still the same." Amy shrugged.
"Even my mom and dad?" Mary mentioned.
"Actually… I don't see them very much anymore. Your dad comes into my dad's restaurant every once in a while, but there's no small talk between them. You know my parents aren't exactly fond of yours." Amy replied hesitantly. "Haven't you heard from them?" She asked.
"Nope." The two-tone replied nonchalantly. Amy scowled; she knew Mary's parents weren't the best people in the world, but she would have assumed that they would have at least kept in touch with their only child.
"Hey, well screw them. This family you have up here is ten times as better." Amy pointed out as she looped her arm through Mary's. "Gosh… it's freaking cold. The north is horrible in December… let's go back." Amy shivered. Mary laughed, she was wearing so many layers she couldn't feel the biting cold, but poor Amy was shaking in her boots.
"Alright, we can watch a movie or something until everyone gets back." Mary agreed, turning them around and starting back for the Institute.
&&&&
"Crank it up, Bobby!" Amy hollered as music blared in the recroom. Amy and Mary had been shocked when everyone got home that afternoon with decorations in tow. Apparently, the X-Men had decreed tonight a celebration due to Amy's visit. And, well, that suited the party girls just fine.
Rogue watched with mild amusement as the recroom was partially destroyed by the party. She was sitting on the steps, not too keen on becoming a wild child tonight. She saw Amy walk towards the kitchen and followed. "So." Rogue greeted as Amy rummaged in the freezer for ice.
"Yo…Rogue." Amy greeted in response. "I learned something about you today." She said with a wide smile. "Never knew Mary had a sister… you taking care of her for me?" The last part was serious, and Rogue saw a glint of suspicion in her eyes.
"Of course." Rogue assured her, not appreciating the questioning stare. "Enjoying your stay?" She asked, trying to change the subject.
"Sure am… although it's freakishly cold up here." Amy shuddered, her tone cheerful again.
"I've been up here so long… I can't remember how warm Southern winters are compared to this." Rogue smiled faintly in remembrance of Mississippi.
"Warmer than this. Way warmer. Like… teen degrees. Not single or negative digits." Amy pointed out, causing Rogue to chuckle. Amy was a sweet kid… a little dramatic, but sweet.
"So, how long are yah staying?"
"Until Sunday… my parents and I are traveling to Georgia to see other family for Christmas… are you going anywhere for the holidays?" Amy inquired, setting her glass down.
Rogue shook her head and glanced back into the recroom and stared at her little sister. "Ah don't suppose Mary will go visit her parents, will she?" She stated, the tone in her voice making it a statement, not a question.
"Not a chance. They wouldn't have her anyway. Those asses…" Amy raged.
Rogue smiled, so it seemed they both hated the Dawson's with a passion. "Ah think we'll get along just fine, Amy." She smiled as she gestured for them to head back to the party. Truthfully, she had been wary of the girl. She didn't know if Amy would still treat Mary as a friend once her powers had manifested, but Rogue saw that the girl loved her little sister dearly and that brought her comfort.
As they rejoined the group, a wave of happiness washed over Rogue. Her sister had her best friend, and she was settling in quite well with everything at the Institute. Mary was safe, and more importantly… she was happy. Tonight, Rogue didn't have to worry about Pietro, school or responsibilities. Tonight was her night off to be a kid.
((OOC: No, I didn't like this chapter --))