Gifts and Curses
By Todd Fan
Disclaimer: "It's hard to take positive steps, when you've burned the bridge you got to walk across"
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Chapter 10 – New Mutants reunited.
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Over at New York, the college was holding it's first baseball game of the semester, against UCLA, and the Not-So-New mutants had gathered to watch it. After a few hours of Tabby convincing him that sticks really didn't have anything to do with dates, and he was in no danger of being beaten by one, Warlock had shyly agreed to Doug's 'date'. After all, they weren't alone, his team-mates were there, ready to bail him out if he had any severe panic attacks. Roberto also had a pleasant surprise, with Danielle arriving at three o'clock in the morning, announcing that she was having a 'break from traveling' to spend time with her boyfriend. The pair were currently in a lip-lock on the bleachers, Dani sitting on Roberto's lap, and being politely ignored by everyone…They had been like that for some time, how they were breathing was a mystery to everyone.
"So.. how about them bears?", asked Ray conversationally.
"Bears?", asked Warlock, confused, form where he sat next to Doug, "but Ray, you told me there were no Ursine in the New York area"
Ray sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Forget it, 'Lock", he said, "I was trying to ignore the love-birds"
"Who needs love?", asked Tabby, "love sucks. Sucks!"
"You're just P.O'ed because Lopez dumped you", said Ray.
"Damn right I am!", said Tabby, "he used me. He broke up with me after he slept with me again. Sleezball."
"Like ye use everyone else?", asked Rahne, arching a brow.
Tabby muttered to herself, crossing her arms
"Shouldn't you be eating vast quantities of meat and killing small, defenseless furry animals, Wolfsbane?", she asked.
"It's not night-time yet", pointed out Rahne, then frowned, "that full moon is making me hungry, though"
"You gonna be alright on your own?", asked Sam, "a'h can't keep an eye on you tonight, Logan will pitch a hissy fit if 'ah miss our poker game with Mr. Grimm an' Johnny" (1)
"Hey, I'm fine", smiled Rahne, "I'm under great control. I haven't bitten anyone yet, I'm not a teenager anymore, ye know"
She smirked.
"You go to your poker game, Momma wants a new paint job", he said.
"Yes, Dear", sighed Sam, not wanting to chance being handcuffed to the radiator wearing nothing but his underwear again.
"Well, well, well, isn't this a happy reunion?"
The group glanced up at the familiar voice, Bobby smirked, walking over, trailed by Lila and Ace. His hair had been tied back into a ponytail, his now blue eyes watching the pair in amusement, a Queensryche T-shirt bellow his blue trench coat. (2)
Nevertheless, the surprise brought Dani and Roberto apart sharply, the Not-So-New-Mutants greeting him with stony glares…except Warlock, who smiled, giving him a wave.
"You all giving me the cold shoulder?", Bobby smirked at his personal joke, "and here's me thinking we were friends for life"
"What are you doing here, Drake?", asked Roberto, standing up, narrowing his eyes, "you haven't tormented us enough?"
"Hey, I found my peace, seesh, what is it with you X-Men and holding grudges?", he asked, "settle down, Sunspeck, go back to Pocahontas, there"
Dani's eyes began to glow lightly, before Sam put a hand on her arm.
"Don't cause a scene, Dani, he's only tryin' to goad you on".
Dani frowned, before sighing, her eyes going back to normal, muttering darkly in Cheyenne. Bobby gave a cruel chuckle.
"Yeah, listen to him, Moonstar", he said, "he's the leader of your happy little gang, anyway, since I moved onto better things"
"We don't want a fight, Bobby", growled Sam, narrowing his eyes, "so back off"
"Am I missing something?", asked Doug with a frown, the looked at Bobby, "you're Iceman, I've seen you on the tube a few times…"
"Who the hell are you?", asked Bobby.
"Errr…", Doug chose to hide behind Warlock, "I'm his date"
Bobby's eyebrow shot up.
"Boy, are you in for a surprise", he said.
Rahne growled, standing up.
"Is there a reason ye came here, Bobby? Apart from tae pick on us?", she asked.
"Down girl", said Bobby, "Full Moon fever hitting you already? Or is it the new Hell's Angels look?"
He smiled, gesturing Lila over, putting an arm around her.
"Treating my girl to a ballgame", he said, "my college is here, too, I have every right to be here"
"Great, more couples", groaned Tabby.
"Guy used her in a one night stand", explained Ray as Bobby blinked.
"Really?", asked Bobby, smirking, "want me to do him in for you?"
"I don't need you to fight my battles for me, Snowball", said Tabby, "I can beat him up myself"
"Only offering", smirked Bobby.
"Then don't", said Tabby.
'Come on, Bobby", said Ace, "the game's starting soon, we're gonna lose out on our seats"
"You heard the guy, Drake", said Roberto, "get out of here, no one wants you here. You screwed up big time with us, and you can't just come waltzing back like nothing happened"
"Lila, Ace, go grab our seats", said Bobby, deadly calm, "I need to deal with this alone"
"But…", Lila sighed, shaking her head, muttering about stubbornness as she walked off with Ace.
Once they were gone, Bobby turned to look at his old friends.
"Look, I paid my dues, already", he said, "okay, I admit, what I did was wrong, but you guys haven't made it any easier for me. So I'd appreciate it if you'd just back off and let it go"
"Let it go?", Sam asked, arching a brow, "give us one reason why we should, Bobby. You were ma'h best friend, but it seems like a'h don't even know you anymore".
"You're no better than the creeps that run the Hellfire Club or the FOH", said Roberto, "they're cold-blooded killers, too"
"I didn't kill anyone", said Bobby.
"You came close", said Danielle, "that was enough. Get lost, you've burned your bridges here"
Bobby clenched his fists, before growling, walking off, heading for away from the stadium. Warlock, who'd been silent through the exchange, gave his friends a disapproving glare, as good as a pacifist like him could brew up, anyway, before getting up, heading after Bobby, easily catching him up.
"Self-friend Bobby, wait".
Bobby snorted.
"'Self-friend? You can still call me a 'friend' after everything I did", he stopped, clenching his fists, "didn't you get the memo, Warlock? I'm a monster"
Warlock blinked at him, then sighed.
"No, you are not a monster"
He picked up a flower from the ground, in a second, the thing had become techno-organic as the alien drained it of it's life force, before it became dust, floating to the ground.
"I have seen real monsters, Bobby", said Warlock, "I've lived among them. I am one. My species has no compassion, no empathy, only anger and hatred"
"Been there, done that", said Bobby, "or did you forget about everything I've done to you guys?"
"You were not yourself", said Warlock, "you let your.. what do you Earthlings call it, 'Inner Demon' take over"
He sighed.
"You and I are quite alike in that respect", he said, "beneath this wacky naïve alien exterior, I still have…core programming. Seek and destroy. I am still a Technarc. I do not know what made me different from the rest of my race. What caused me to have…I suppose you could call it a conscience, maybe even a soul, but I know without it…"
He looked away.
"I would have.. could have done a lot more damage than you", he said, "it terrifies me, but it is a truth I have to face. It takes a lot of control to override my basic urge to drain sentient life. It is our soul, our spirit…whatever you wish to call it that shapes who we are, and it can never be changed"
"I changed", said Bobby, frowning, "I changed a lot"
"You turned away from who you were", said Warlock, "but deep down, even in your darkest hours, you were still Bobby, as you are still Bobby now"
"Huh", said Bobby, "where'd you get all the wisdom from?"
"I may not fully understand your planet", said Warlock, "but I have lived though enough fear and hatred to last a thousand lifetimes. On my home planet, I was considered a freak, an abomination, simply because I had the ability to care. If I was not the Prince…"
He sighed.
"I would have no doubt been slaughtered as soon as possible", he said, "but our friends are not Technarc's and they will forgive you in time…if you let them".
"Maybe", mused Bobby, then smirked, "you'd better get back to your… date. Heh, I didn't think you swung that way, 'Lock"
"Swung?", asked the alien, cocking his head in confusion.
"Liked guys, 'Lock", smirked Bobby.
"I really do not mind which sex I court", said Warlock with a shrug, "my species are asexual, having variety is a rare thing. The only reason I am 'male' is because you assumed I was. Earthling languages are very gender based, you know"
He flicked off his image inducer and shifted shape, becoming a much more female form, causing one passing student to walk into a lamppost.
"I could have just as easily taken a female form", he.. or rather she said, "it really doesn't matter to me, considering I am neither. I prefer my masculine form, though, I have become accustomed to it"
"Huh", Bobby blinked, slightly amused at the small few gaping male students who were staring at the gorgeous oddly-coloured woman that had appeared out of nowhere, "you should have stuck to this if you wanted dates, trust me"
Warlock glanced over his/her shoulder and smirked.
"Like the space-ship bumper stickers say 'Earth guys are easy'", Warlock shifted back to his normal form, causing the now very confused group to disperse and book a few sessions in the Phyce department.
"I feel I should be mildly insulted by that", said Bobby, heading back to the crowd, "your species sure is strange"
"Says someone that descended from an ape", pointed out Warlock switching his image inducer back on.
"I'm taking it this David doesn't know you're from 'Out of Town', then?", asked Bobby.
"Doug", corrected Warlock, "and no, he doesn't"
"You're going to have to tell him eventually, you know", pointed out Bobby, "there are a few things he's gonna notice, or rather, a few things he's gonna notice are missing"
"I am…err.. 'working on it?'", tried Warlock sheepishly, then smiled, "you and your friends should sit with us, you know, reaching out the orange branch"
"Olive branch, Warlock", sighed Bobby, "maybe…but something tells me, this is going to take a while"
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Elsewhere in New York, Sidney winced as she watched Mr. Sakano repeatedly bang his head on his desk, making odd little 'Meeehhh' noises. You could say he hadn't taken her good news as well as she had hoped.
"Mr. S I said I was getting married, not leaving", she said, rolling her eyes, "please stop that before you give yourself a concussion"
Sakano paused in his head-banging to blink up at her.
"But why do you have to book the wedding so early?", he squeaked, "we have tour dates, TOUR DATES!"
"I need it so early because it took Todd five years to ask me to marry him, I'm snagging him quick before he bolts. Look, my first tour isn't for another six months", said Sidney, "Todd and I can get married by then…how much time does it take to plan a wedding?"
Sakano looked at her for a moment, before letting out a sob, resuming his head-banging.
"Alright, alright!", sighed Sidney, "if I let you organize me a wedding planner, will you please just chill?"
Sakano blinked up, adjusting his glasses.
"Promise?"
"I promise, seesh", Sidney rolled her eyes, "okay, Mr. S, deep breaths, inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale"
Sakano took a few deep breaths.
"I'm calm now", he said, then smiled, "oh yes, we have a possible warm up act for you. It took me a long, long time to find another mutant, you know"
Sidney shrugged.
"I wanted a mutant, we mutants get very little breaks as it is", she said simply.
Sakano nodded, muttering under his breath about the extra stress this was giving him, before leaving, soon returning, ushering in a nineteen year old boy into the room. The most striking thing about the boy was the red pair of wings sprouting from his back, his hair matching his wing colour.
"Sidney, meet Joshua Guthrie", said Sakano.
"It's Jay", corrected Jay, "a'h don't use Josh anymore" (3)
Sidney smiled, shaking the younger mutant's hand.
"Guthrie?", she asked, "as in Sam Guthrie?"
"He's my brother", muttered Jay, "ah'd rather not talk about it"
"Fair enough", shrugged Sidney, "so, what's your musical style?"
"Rock ballads mostly", Jay shrugged, "a'h write my own songs, too"
"A songwriter too?", Sidney grinned, "this is great! Well, I still need to hear you sing, but your prospects are looking good, Kido. You don't mind the long hours and the monotonous traveling?"
"No", said Jay, shaking his head, "to tell you the truth, a'hm distancing ma'hself from Kentucky at the moment, a'h recently lost ma'h girlfriend, she…..drowned" (4)
"Oh…I'm sorry", said Sidney softly.
Jay shrugged, brushing it off.
"Ma'h powers concern ma'h voice", he said, "a'h can sing in other frequencies, as well as..err.. it's strange. It's like a'h can make it seem a'h have a chorus, when a'hm singing by ma'hself"
Sidney smiled.
"Now that's a useful trick", she said, "well, you're heart seems in the right place, and you look keen, I'll have Mr. Sakano here get your paperwork sorted"
"Thank you, Miss Cagney", smiled Jay, "you don't know what this means to me"
"It's Sidney, and I think I do", chuckled Sidney, then added quietly, "if Mr. S there starts to freak out, don't worry, it's normal for him"
"…A'hll keep that in mind", chuckled Jay.
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In Bayville, a very different meeting was taking place. A black haired woman sat at a coffee table, one overlooking one of the beaches that dotted the coastline near the small town. She watched people go about their business in silence, every now and again, sipping on a cup of coffee.
"Hello, Mother"
She turned around, watching as Kurt, in his image-inducer self, walked over, taking a seat across the table from her.
"How'd you know it was me?", asked Mystique.
"Lucky guess", shrugged Kurt.
Mystique frowned, watching him suspiciously.
"What did you want to meet me for?", she asked, "is something wrong with you or Rogue?"
"Nein", said Kurt, shaking his head, "does a son need a reason to want to talk vith his mother?"
"He does when his mother is a criminal, who has only caused him pain", replied Mystique sipping at her coffee, "I hear you're training to be a priest in Germany"
"I am", said Kurt, "I vant to help people"
"I'm sure looking like a demon makes that job so much easier", said Mystique with a smirk.
Kurt frowned softly, before sighing, pulling a parcel out of his coat and handing it to her.
"Happy birthday"
Mystique blinked, looking at the parcel.
"How did you..", she shook it off, "I don't deserve this. I'm an awful mother"
"You're still my mother", said Kurt simply, "and I vant to give you a birthday gift"
Mystique blinked again, before opening it numbly, inside was an old book.
"The Picture of Dorian Grey", she said, surprised, "how did you…" (5)
"I quizzed Forge", shrugged Kurt, "he said you loved Oscar Wilde"
A small smile crossed her face.
"I do", she looked up at her son, "thank you, Kurt"
"You're velcome", said Kurt with a smile, "do you have to go anyvhere, or would you like to sit and catch up?"
Mystique blinked at him, before giving a smile.
"I'd like to catch up", he said, "very much"
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(1) – Wolverine often plays poker games with The Thing and The Human Torch, or he did in the old days. Incidentally, as you will learn, Sam is a MEAN poker player. He has bluffing down to an art form, and almost always wins the games he is in (Read the X-Men Annual 1998, you see him in a whole new light)
(2) – I say it again, I say it thrice. See Black Ice, see Black Ice, see Black Ice.
(3) – This brings my regular Guthrie count to FOUR. What can I say? I love the family. I play the majority of them in an RPG. Jay (AKA Icarus) can currently be seen in the Academy X comics. He was last seen in the Chronicles in To Err is Human.
(4) – See the 'She Lies with Angels' arc from Uncanny X-Men.
(5) – This is often miss-named 'The Portrait of Dorian Grey', I assure you, it's Picture.
Another chapter done and dusted! If you haven't picked up yet, the New Mutants (or rather, Not-So-New Mutants) play a large part in this Chronicle, hence why they are in so many chapters. Mr. Sakano rules, I love writing him. Do review. Until next time…