Gifts and Curses
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "He doesn't know anything. Unless, of course, he's seen you flying around the neighborhood in the saucer again" "You go for one joyride and they never let you forget it!"
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No, Kurt isn't a priest yet, guys, he's training, it takes quite a bit more than 5 years to become one, if I remember rightly.
Magcat – Ebony has been part of the chronicles since 'Dark History', the 4th chronicle. He was given to Wanda by Agatha, who left him for her in her will.
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Chapter 8 – A familiar foe
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Bayville High hadn't changed much over the years. Principle Kelly still hated mutants, and was still trying to break out of the school system into politics. The food served in the cafeteria was still questionable as a possible new form of life.
"Hey, Muties!"
…And mutants were still public enemy number one. Paige sighed frustrated from where she and Jamie were showing Josh around. Karl, Jono and Kevin had been confined to schooling at the Institute, until they gained some control over their powers. Josh, however, was given an image inducer and told to 'go for it'. It was something he was beginning to regret. He regretted it even more as a group of jocks walked over to the trio. It was led by a black haired boy named 'Russell', though most preferred to denote him the nickname 'Duncan 2'.
"You got another freak in your fold?", he sneered, looking in Josh's direction.
"Get lost, ya troglodyte", growled Paige.
"I wasn't talking to you", said Russell, "so shut up, you…freaky.. skin girl"
He smirked in Josh's direction.
"So, what do you do, freak?", he asked, "burn things? Shoot pineapples from your butt?"
"Don't answer him, Josh", said Paige, "you don't have ta tell him anything"
"Hey, you", said Russell, jabbing a finger at her, "I told you to shut up"
Paige narrowed her eyes.
"A'h don't like being told to 'shut up".
"Ooooh, what're you going to do?", said Russell, in mock fear, "you gonna shed on me?"
"Maybe", smirked Paige, moving to pull at her skin, only to have Jamie put a hand on her arm.
"Leave it", he said.
Paige blinked at him.
"He started it", she said, "and you know that he deserves it!"
"Yeah, he does", said Jamie, "but not in the halls, we don't want getting expelled and making a bad rep for the school"
"But..", started Paige.
"Drop. It", said Jamie, narrowing his eyes, "that's not a suggestion, Husk"
Paige scowled at him, walking off.
"You might be the field leader, Multiple, but not here", she retorted over her shoulder.
Josh glanced between the pair, before scuttling after Paige. Jamie turned his attention to Russell.
"And I'm getting sick of telling you, so I'll do it one last time", he said.
He banged his fist on a locker, four clones popping out.
"Back. Off", they growled in unison.
Russell frowned, calculating his chances before stalking away.
"This isn't over, Madrox", he warned.
"What's with Jamie?", asked Josh as he scuttled after Paige, trying to keep up with the long-legged girl.
"He's a stubborn, miserable….", Paige waved her hands around in suppressed rage, trying to find a word, "..ratfink!".
"What's a ratfink?", blinked Josh.
"Jamie is", said Paige, "He needs to get out of his rut! Seesh!"
"Ooookay", said Josh, "someone obviously has a thing for someone else"
"What?", growled Paige, sending a glare at Josh.
"Nothing", Josh shrugged, "just saying, is all"
"Well, forget it", said Paige, then frowned, "he's too hung up on that Gina girl, anyway"
"What happened to her?", asked Josh, "did she die?"
"No", said Paige, "she left on a mad vengeance to kill off the members of the Hellfire club, who's enslaved her into becoming an assassin"
Josh blinked numbly.
"Harsh".
"Yeah, you could say that", said Paige, then sighed as the bell rang, "come on, lets get you to class, don't want to miss your first day"
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"Welcome to your first day of lessons, don't worry, guys, it isn't as scary as you think"
Over at the Institute, Karl, Kevin and Jono were having their own lessons. Not that they seemed to be taking anything in, they were too busy staring in wonder at the 8 inch man stood on the desk in front of them.
"Professor Xavier has decided not to put you though High School until you have better control of your powers", continued Shortpack, "but that doesn't mean you won't get a normal education. You'll have the classes you'd take in High School right here"
He smiled at them.
"Any questions?"
Three hands shot up. Shortpack sighed, rolling his eyes.
"Any questions other than about my size?"
Three hands were retracted.
"Hoo boy", said Shortpack, shaking his head, "okay. I shrunk at puberty when my telepathy manifested. No, I can't grow to a normal size, yes, it makes my life extremely complicated and no, I have never entertained the notion of dating Barbie, Thumbelina, Tinkerbell or any other fictional miniature woman. That enough?"
Is that dolls house in the common room where you live?, asked Jono.
Shortpack sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Yes, yes I live in a dolls house", he said, "do we have any questions about history?"
A deep silence filled the room.
"I'll take that as a 'no'", said Shortpack, "you do know what history is, right?"
"Boring", said Kevin, "major snooze-fest"
"Then you've been having the wrong history lessons", smirked Shortpack.
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By the time evening came on campus, Warlock had finally gotten over the worst of his hangover, and was spending the evening watching B-movies. His current movie had the odd title 'Teenagers from Outer Space' (1)
"I know how you feel, Derek", he said to the main alien character, "it is not easy being the only benevolent member of your race, as well as being the prince of that race"
He sighed as Derek the alien rolled around on the ground with the Earth woman he'd appropriately fallen in love with.
"Oh yeah, that's easy for you, you look human", muttered Warlock.
Despite being told otherwise a lot of times, Warlock still didn't quite grasp the fact that the events which happened on TV were not actually real. Before he could go into a full-scale rant at what a lucky alien Derek was, Doug opened the door.
"B-Movies now?", he arched a brow, "you really do like the Sci-Fi stuff, don't you?"
"It reminds me of home", said Warlock, then squeaked, "I mean…err home in Bayville… where my mother watches these movies. Yes… heh".
Doug blinked at him curiously.
"Uh… huh", he said, then picked up the DVD case, "Teenagers from Outer Space?"
He looked at the screen.
"They sure don't look like teenagers"
"They do not look like they are from Outer Space, either", said Warlock.
"Is that a lobster?", asked Doug, pointing at a rampaging monster which looked like a lobster being held in front of a bright light.
"It's supposed to be a Gargon", said Warlock, choosing not to mention he'd never heard of one during his travels from Technarchy to Earth, "I am sorry if I disrupted your resting period by my singing. I was not myself"
"Don't worry about it", smiled Doug, "Actually, I was impressed you knew the whole thing off by heart"
"That is because this planet played that thing throughout space for hours on end", Warlock muttered under his breath, "every alien within a hundred light years of this rock knows it"
"You know", said Doug conversationally, not hearing Warlock's comment, "I just can't put my finger on where that accent of yours comes from, and I'm usually good at that sort of thing, with the mutant power and all"
"Oh, you will not have heard where my 'accent' comes from", said Warlock, "believe me"
"Fair enough", said Doug, jumping over the couch to sit next to him, "you know something, 'Lock, I haven't met anyone like you in my life. You're…very strange"
"Thank you", smiled Warlock, taking it as a compliment.
Doug blinked at him.
"Yeah..see, it's things like that", he said, "sometimes it's like you're from another planet or something"
"HAH!", laughed Warlock nervously, "that is unlikely. I am an Earthling, most definitely an Earthling".
"You're not too hot on metaphors, are you?", asked Doug, arching a brow.
"No?", tried Warlock, cocking his head.
Doug chuckled.
"See? You're completely innocent in so many ways", he said, "you're kinda naive, too. I think you fit under the category 'You're lucky you're cute'".
"Oh, I am not cute", said Warlock, frowning at his now working image inducer, "believe me"
"Oh, self-esteem issues too?", chuckled Doug, "I bet you've never even had a date before, have you?"
"No", replied Warlock. (2)
Well, between fleeing his home planet in terror of being killed in a violent and painful way, then crash landing on a planet without a single member of his species (thankfully) around, it had never really come up. Doug shook his head, clicking his tongue.
"That's a crying shame, one heck of a waste, if you ask me", he smiled shyly, trying to hide the fact he'd been leading up to this, "so, hey, if you're not busy tomorrow, when that baseball game is on..…."
Warlock, being Warlock, didn't catch on.
"No, I am not busy on the night of tomorrow", he replied.
Doug brightened up.
"Cool", he said, then blushed, looking away, "'cause, y'know, I do like you. Who knows, after a date I may have a better chance of understanding you"
Warlock blinked, uh oh.
"Date?", he asked, confused, "as in you and I? As in a courtship ritual?"
Doug arched a brow.
"Courtshi…", he shook it off, then sighed, a little crestfallen when he saw Warlock's growing terror, "oh…sorry, I thought… I got the wrong end of the stick didn't I?"
Warlock squeaked, backpedaling to the other side of the couch. Stick? What did sticks have to do with this! No one ever mentioned sticks!
"It's okay", said Doug, "just… forget I said anything. I didn't know you didn't. feel the same way"
"Oh, it.. it is not t..that", stammered Warlock, "it is..just.w..w..well.."
"Betty, when you learn where I'm from, well, you will not understand", said Derek the attractive human-like alien, on TV "but I hope it will not make an difference between us because.."
Warlock gave the TV a glare, he knew he shouldn't have trusted it. The TV had turned against him.
"I don't care where you're from", wailed the overacting human named Betty, "I don't understand all this, but somehow I feel that I've always known you, that we've never been apart!"
"What?", asked Doug, blinking confusedly between the TV and the alien.
Warlock backed up some more, falling off the back of the couch and heading for the door.
"Ihavetogowillnotbelongbye", he said, quickly leaving.
Doug watched him leave then sighed banging his head on the table.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid", he sighed, "get work, Ramsey, you've managed to completely freak him out"
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Meanwhile, in New York, Todd glanced nervously around from the restaurant window. Sidney paused from her eating, watching him curiously.
"You're doing it again?"
"Mmmm?", asked Todd, blinking at her, "doin; what?"
"Acting strange", said Sidney, "I mean, fist of all, you give me two classy meals in the same week, when you know I don't need them to love you, and then you act weird and fidgety in both of them. What's going on?"
"Nothin'", smiled Todd.
Sidney narrowed her eyes, before putting her fork down loudly, standing up and stalking out without a word. Todd blinked. That wasn't good. He quickly got up, following Sidney out, thankful he'd already paid for the meal in advance, at least none of the waiters tried to stop him leaving. He finally caught up with the feline-like mutant a few blocks away, leaning against a wall in a alley.
"What was that all about?", he asked, walking towards her.
"Something's going on with you, Todd", she said, her tail flicking angrily, "you've been so distant lately. I don't know why. When we have dates, you become distracted, like you're not even interested in me anymore"
She sighed, glancing over at him sadly.
"Do you want to end it?", she asked softly, "I really thought we were onto a good thing. But if you want to break it off. .then fine"
Todd's eyes widened, and he shook his head violently.
"Oh, no, Sid, you got it wrong", he smiled, "oh boy, have you got it wrong"
Sidney narrowed her eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Todd smiled, producing a small box form his pocket.
"Todd...", started Sidney, realisation dawning on her features.
Todd opened the box, revealing a small key. Sidney looked at it with a raised eyebrow.
"It's a...key", she said, blinking.
"Not just any key", said Todd, "it's the only key ta this lock".
Todd produced a small padlock from his pocket, around which was a diamond engagement ring. Sidney's eyes widened.
"Okay, brace yaself, it's about ta get mushy", said Todd, "This lock represents my heart. While you were outta my life, it stayed locked, my feelin's kept inside an' away from the world. You made me feel I could open it again, and if you'd do me the honour of spendin' the rest of your life with me, I think it might stay open forever. If you give it the chance".
Todd handed Sidney the key.
"Sidney, will you marry me?".
Sidney blinked at amazement at the key and lock...and then the beautiful ring.
"Todd...I...", she started, before a low, taunting chuckle sounded above them.
They glanced up, feline eyes watched them in the darkness, before Pickles brought himself out of the shadows.
"How precious", he sneered, "the frog has finally brought up the nerve to ask the kitty-cat to marry him".
Sidney tensed up, her tail twitching.
"Pickles"
"Been a while, Sid", he said with a fanged grin, "you miss me?"
"Like a hole in the head", she replied.
"Leave her alone", said Todd, moving to stand in front of her.
"Back off, Frog-boy", growled Pickles, "this isn't your fight"
"It is if you're threatening my girlfriend", said Todd, narrowing his eyes.
Pickles smirked.
"That so? Pitty you'll never know what her answer will be".
He snarled, unfurling his demonic wings, grabbing Todd's shoulders, flying high up into the air.
"I heard you bounce pretty well", taunted Pickles, "well, gee, I hope you can bounce from this height".
Todd blinked down at the ground, so far away. That would not be a pleasant landing from him. His eyes flicked around for a possible escape, the only thing close was the side of the Chrysler building.
"You know, Pickles", he said, tensing his legs up, "I can do more'n just 'bounce'".
He let out a blob of slime into Pickles' eyes. The larger mutant snarled in pain, loosening his grin. Todd flexed his spine and kicked out his legs, he used the momentum to slide out of Pickles' grasp, moving sideways to land on the building.. Pickles gave a roar, wiping away the goop.
"You'll pay for that", he snarled, "I was going to make it a quick death, but now I'll have to drag it out. Maybe dangle your half-dead corpse in front of her before she meets her end".
"You'll have ta catch me first", said Todd, leaping up higher on the building, finally getting to the top.
"With pleasure", snarled Pickles, narrowing his eyes as he flew after him.
By the time he got to the top, Todd was nowhere to be seen. He growled, moving inside the building.
"I can see in the dark, Toad", he taunted, "you know I'll find you".
"So can I", replied Todd, dropping at him from the ceiling.
Pickles growled, flapping his wings, trying to buck him, off. Finding himself unable to do so, he transformed into a lion, twisting quickly, swatting Todd with a huge paw, sending him flying across the room, where he hit his head on the opposite wall with a dull thud. He groaned, fighting to keep his eyes open as Pickles stalked over to him.
"Now I'll make you wish you had never been born", he snarled.
Todd could only let out a moan as his world went black. Pickles growled, picking his unconscious form up, just as the doors opened, Sidney running in.
"Catch me if you can", snarled Pickles, running outside, unfurling his wings as he jumped off the top of the building, flying off into the night
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(1) – Yes, this is a real B-Movie, from 1959, and like all B-Movies, it is mind-bogglingly crap. Yes, I have watched it. All events mentioned in this chapter really do happen. It makes you cringe, does it not? MST3K ripped this to pieces, in that fantastic way it does. The 'Really Old Teenagers from Outer Space'.
(2) – In the comics, he dated Rahne, while he was having a bit of an identity crisis due to dying and being reborn (as you would). When last seen, he had a reciprocated crush with a girl named Hope, she was very jealous of Kitty and Rahne, who both flirted unashamedly with Warlock in his series. The hussies.
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Gasp, Pickles has returned, and once again, Todd's engagement plans have been squashed. Yes, I am plotting Warlock/Doug, before you get out your flaming torches, I must point out that Warlock's species are asexual, and plus, they were very, very, very close in the comics. Maybe I'm reading into things too much, but they make more sense than some pairings (coughLorocough). Do review. Until next time….