Standard Disclaimers Apply
AN: I didn't like this chapter when I first wrote it but it's grown on me. And as always, thanks to my Beta, Silindro, who is an awesome writer.
--++------------------++-- The Jinx --++------------------++--
Chapter Two - Twisted Minds
The day had not yet begun on tiny Kailili Island. A dark calm drifted through the tropical forest; dawn wasn't due for another three hours. Yet all was not quite, all was not well. Along the western beach, a pillar of smoke rose nearly unseen into the inky blackness of night.
"Hey Charles, I'm over the island now." A gruff, male voice spoke into an earpiece that served as a communicator. He was seated in the cockpit of a spectacular helicopter, which emitted only a low hum from the swiftly rotating blades.
"The girl's home is at the coordinates I've given you." Xavier replied, seated comfortably several thousand miles away. A note of concern sounded in his voice. It was unlike Logan to be unable to locate a target. When Logan requested he double-check the information, the Professor's worry grew three-fold. Bringing up the information on his computer, Xavier could not understand why Logan was having such trouble. According to satellite imagery, taken three days ago, the little yellow house was snuggled in a small clearing in the midst of some rather dense foliage.
"Hold up a minute, Charles." Logan glanced down at a small withering object before him and caught the lightest scent of smoke. Shocked, Logan reported back, "Nothing but a rubble heap …. looks like someone beat us to the punch." After this startling piece of news, Xavier could hear a light snarl escape from his pilot. Logan, perhaps better known as Wolverine, pulled the helicopter into a higher altitude and aimed it back towards Mainland.
"This can only be trouble." Xavier spoke more to himself, setting down his communicator and ending the conversation.
--++------------------++--
What greeted Beth Jenkins later that morning was not the comforting presence of familiarity, but a shockingly bare room. Raising herself into a sitting position, Beth glanced around for Mr. Waffles, a cherished stuffed animal from her youth. But the ragged old toy's absence didn't seem to bother her much. In fact, her alien surroundings bothered her not in the slightest. She couldn't remember how she'd come to be in this drab little room, but her attempts to recall the events of the previous day only gave her a migraine. It was simply easier to go back to sleep.
As she was snuggling down into threadbare sheets and a lumpy mattress, a rumble from somewhere downstairs caught Beth's attention. Screams of anger filtered through a flimsy wooden door. Was that glass breaking? Further yelling followed and Beth distinctly heard, "This is the Brotherhood, not the Sisterhood!" before all fell quiet once more.
Seconds later the sound of footsteps on the creaking stairs sent Beth instinctively into a pretend sleep, pulling the covers up over her nose. The door opened and in stepped a slender young girl with waist-length raven hair and a middle-aged woman in a brown business suit.
"You'll be sleeping in here. The boys are going to be repainting this place over the weekend so I wouldn't get too comfortable just yet." The woman watched idly as the young teen placed cheerfully pink luggage on the bed. Chancing a better look, Beth opened her eyes just wide enough to see that this new girl looked rather underfed and had the almond-shaped eyes of an Asian.
"The room is good." Broken english and a distinctly Chinese accent confirmed Beth's theory and she slid her eyes shut once more, hoping neither of them had noticed.
"Your roommate there is Beth. If you'd wake her up, I'll have Lance take you both to school." The woman departed the room and Beth at last raised her head. She'd heard enough to understand. This girl was to be her roommate.
"Oh! You awake?" The Chinese girl was a few years younger, though she was dressed of someone about six years her senior. A short red skirt revealed trim legs while a white blouse showed off a meticulously flat stomach. Beth, her own hair going in every direction, felt quite bulky and awkward next to her compact little roommate.
"Yeah … what's your name?" Beth threw her legs over the side of the bed, hardly noticing that the pajamas she wore were not her own.
"I am Aimi." The girl gave her a cheerful wink and held up what looked to be a peace sign.
"Beth." Came the groggy response.
"Girls! Your ride's ready!" The woman's business-like voice sounded from downstairs. Aimi changed clothes in a flash, donning a more conservative outfit for school. Apparently modesty did not come naturally to the cheerful young teen as she tossed her old clothes aside, threw a backpack over her should and danced gaily out of the room.
Discovering a pair of jeans and a baggy T-shirt, Beth dressed herself in a stranger's outfit and let herself out. A foggy sort of calm relieved her of any concern over her surroundings or the situation in general. Who needed worries when there was breakfast, school, and a cute guy with his own set of wheels assigned to give you a ride to class?
--++------------------++--
Watching a dust trail settle back into the gravel driveway, the woman in the business suit crossed her arms and glanced at a young man by her side. He was perhaps only eighteen or nineteen, a young face betrayed his age.
"They don't suspect anything?" Instantly, the woman's exterior faded away like sand blowing across a desert, becoming an azure face with catlike yellow eyes. A slight smirk revealed elongated canines.
"No, my Lady. But I still think we've acted too quickly. I still can't control it for very long. Mystique, give me a month. I swear I'll be more capable then." The boy's voice was subservient and he looked at his shape-shifting companion with a respectful stare.
"We had to act now! Another day and Xavier would have them added to his ranks." Mystique snarled slightly. The very thought of the Professor made her rather nauseous. "You'd best get some rest. I'm taking you to Boston tomorrow." She heard him slink off towards the back of the house before turning her gaze back on the front lawn. "Yes, tomorrow. Then we'll have the fifth. And then, Dear Charles …. it's all over." With a triumphant grin, she turned from the window and disappeared into another part of the house.
--++------------------++--
Glancing around the laboratory, Beth began to wonder several things. Why was she the new student? Why did the professor keep stopping by for a chat every time he passed by? Why was the air conditioning on when it was a measly sixty-five degrees out?
She sat shivering at a lab table by herself, watching her teapot stubbornly refuse to come to a boil. Most of the other students had reverted to socializing to pass the time. Biting her lip, Beth felt very foolish just sitting there by herself
"Just go ask her, man!" A boy's voice caught her attention. Beth turned just slightly, peering through her dark tresses at a black boy whose hair was dyed a shade of yellowish-blonde. Just now, he was shoving a darker-haired boy off his lab stool.
"No vay!" The second boy had a German accent. "You go ask her!" Thinking they might be talking about her, Beth felt rather awkward in the loose-fitting clothing while all the other girls in class were wearing more trendy clothes. However, she wasn't the only one who'd overheard the two boys.
"Ask me what?" piped up pretty blonde girl sitting next to them. "If it's about the dance, I'd love to." Both boys looked like they'd been caught off-guard and Beth knew they'd been discussing the blonde girl sitting just behind her. Whirling in her seat, Beth turned back to where her teapot had begun a low whistle.
'That was stupid, did you really think they'd talk to you?' Beth bit her lip and began to scribble furiously in her lab report whatever meaningless trivia Mr. McCoy was looking for.
When the bell rang ten minutes later, an overly perky voice came over the intercom with a reminder about the dance on Friday. Putting her lab coat away and, returning to her seat for her things, she found a hastily written note taped to her backpack.
'Are you Elizabeth Jenkins?' Beth turned it over but whomever had given it to her had left no name, no way to reply. She couldn't understand it, of course she was Elizabeth Jenkins, who else would she be? But the longer she pondered over the note the more she felt a pounding headache flood into her mind. Later, she would not remember throwing it away on her way to second period.
--++------------------++--
The dance seemed to be everyone's new favorite topic as the school week drew to a close. By lunch on Wednesday, Beth was absolutely sick of it. Flopping down unceremoniously on the grass in the Quad, she pulled out a meager sack lunch. Normally cold pizza and a mushy banana wouldn't appeal to her but today she felt obscenely hungry.
Most of the gathered crowd was clustered into tight groups of friends, gabbing about dresses, make-up, and all things dance-related. Annoyed, Beth tossed her banana peel behind her and tore into pizza.
"Hey!" A boy yelled. The sudden ruckus caused the assembled students to turn in Beth's direction, and the chatting instantly subsided. Her cheek filled to the brim with pizza, Beth swiveled her head to see a blonde-haired teen in a letterman's jacket glaring at her from underneath the flaps of her trash. "You threw that at me!"
"Nu-uh!" Beth protested, chewing furiously to regain her voice.
"And you're going to tell me bananas fly now?" The boy took a menacing step towards her, gathered his right hand into a fist and pounded it into the palm of his left. "No one hits me with garbage…." His eyes narrowed and it was then Beth noticed two of his friends appearing to stand behind him, all three glaring at her. Beth stood up hastily, stammering for an apology.
"Hey Matthews, leave her alone man." The black boy from Chemistry class walked calmly into the scene. Beth flashed him a grateful smile. She noticed the other boy was missing but felt reassured that at least somebody was looking out for her.
"And just what are you gonna do about, you Jackson Five reject?" Duncan Matthews smirked confidently, folding his arms over his chest and looking superior. Behind him, his two companions began chortling.
The sound of the school bell broke up the tense silence and Beth could see the conflict in the athlete's eyes. He obviously longed to put her in her place but with the start of fourth period at hand and the intervention of her classmate, he was reduced to an idle threat and sulked off after his friends.
"You'd think being held back his senior year would tell him he's an idiot." The boy turned to her, extending his hand to help her up off the grass.
"Thanks for stepping in." She wiped the grass from her legs. "I'm Beth."
"Evan." He smiled. "Welcome to Bayville."
--++------------------++--
The beginning of the sixth period found Beth lacing up a pair of grungy sneakers in the girls' locker room. On her left, a trio of her female classmates were crowded together, eyeing a picture of some boy.
"Ahh, he is sooo cute!" A dark-haired girl swooned, clutching the photo to her chest and leaning against the lockers.
"And he's got the best car on campus." A blonde next to her pointed out.
"Have you decided what you're wearing on Friday night, Teryn?" The third girl asked, leaning over to peer at the snapshot.
"Alright girls, listen up!" The coach, a rather masculine woman with a mean look in her eye, clapped her broad hands together to get their attention. "Today is our day on the track so get yourselves outside." The coach's eyes fell on Beth. As the students filtered out, the masculine woman continued to watch the new girl.
"Yes?" Beth asked, unnerved by the woman's rude stare.
"You're a swimmer." The coach was eyeing her legs, a little slender with her youth but made hard by a daily activity Beth couldn't recall.
"Yes." Beth said it automatically and would later wonder why she'd said such a thing. With little warning, a sudden pain pierced her skull. It felt as though her mind was expanding out past her skull. Rubbing her temple, Beth barely registered the Coach handing her a slip of paper with the words 'Swim Team Tryouts' on it. Feeling a little dazed, Beth headed outside into the calm of the autumn afternoon, clutching the paper in one hand and rubbing her forehead with the other.
--++------------------++--
Her face flushed red from the brisk jog she'd had to keep up for half an hour, Beth quickly stripped out of her Bayville gym clothes and put on her borrowed attire. Pulling the green T-shirt over her head she discovered she was still grasping the now crumpled slip of paper. Scanning it absently, she gathered her things and strolled with the crowd over to the parking lot.
"Hey Scott!" Teryn appeared from somewhere behind her, rushed forward and nearly sent her tumbling to her knees. Beth frowned and readjusted her things, watching Teryn race over to meet a tall boy beside a shiny, red convertible. She scowled; sometimes the wealthiest people were also the rudest.
"Bet'! Bet'!" a Chinese accent floated over the crowd and Beth turned to see Aimi waving her over from the passenger side of a familiar green Jeep. Smiling, Beth changed direction and headed for her friends. She was just climbing into the backseat when she saw someone walk past her and up the driver's side door.
"You haven't called." It was Scott, Teryn's love interest with the convertible. Rolling her eyes, Beth clambered in behind Aimi and buckled herself in.
"She knows things have been tight at the Boarding House, Summers." Lance Alvers gritted his teeth and his female passengers watched them with growing interest.
"You should call." Scott replied, folding his arms over a green sweater.
"And you should go home. You don't even go here anymore." Lance fired up his Jeep.
"Neither do you." Scott pointed out. "Look, just give her a call. The rest of us are sick of hearing her whine about it." With a rude grunt, Lance stomped on the accelerator and sped off down the lane.
"Who 'her'?" Aimi asked curiously, reclining in her seat. As the Jeep picked up speed, Aimi's ebony tresses fluttered in the wind. Somewhat interested, Beth leaned forward, letting her body rest between the two front seats.
"It's a long story." Lance sighed. Beth saw a shadow of grief tint his brown eyes and she longed to tell him it would be okay. She hadn't known him for very long but he was her favorite person at the boarding house.
"Miss Teek' comin' back tonight, we should have big dinner." Aimi announced, switching the subject.
"We're a little short of cash for that." Lance reminded her, smiling despite their desperate lack of money. Beth knew he was putting on a brave face but he seemed happier with his thoughts off the mystery girl.
"If you stop by Wall-Mart I'll run in and grab some noodles." Beth offered, fishing out a five-dollar bill from her pocket. After a few questions as to how she'd come by such funds and why on earth she'd want to waste it on Mystique, Lance turned to give her a kind smile. In the days she'd been living with the Brotherhood, she'd realized that Lance was carrying the majority of the financial burden. He never complained too much but she still felt it was her duty to help him out, having received room and board free of charge.
One short stop at the overcrowded retail store later and they were once more headed for the boarding house, loaded up with ten packs of Cup Ramen, a gallon of milk, and a loaf of bread. Lance pulled onto their street rather quickly, in good spirits and accidentally hopping the curb in his enthusiasm. Laughing, Aimi and Beth both clung onto their seats as though their lives depended on it, teasing Lance for his mistake.
But as they drew closer and closer, Lance thought he perhaps had taken it too rough with them. He started slowing down when he saw Aimi's eyes slide shut for a moment, as though blinking in slow motion.
"Hey now, no getting sick in the car!" He teased but neither girl laughed.
"He's just tired." Beth replied, hiding a yawn. Lance cocked a brow. He?
As they pulled into the driveway, both girls climbed out with much less gusto than they'd had less than five minutes previously. Lance offered to carry the groceries and was halfway to the door when he heard it.
"Oh!" Beth stopped in her tracks, her knees shaking uncontrollably. She hadn't slept in days; the trip to Boston had worn her out immensely. Aimi dropped to her knees and lay down, crumpling on the ground. As a peaceful blackness consumed her vision, Beth thought she saw Lance running toward her but her mind cried out for mercy and sleep found her right there on the lawn.
--++------------------++--
Author's Endnotes: This chapter turned out to be a lot longer than I anticipated but hey, after so long – it should be! Well if you liked it, push the purple button. If you hated it, push the purple button. Either way: Review!