Standard Disclaimers Apply
--++------------------++-- The Jinx --++------------------++--
Chapter Three – Someone Else's Memories
It had been days since anyone had seen Sean Kingsley. His shockingly silver hair and special ability to melt into a liquid substance had earned him the codename "Mercury". Yet, although Professor Xavier was concerned about his absence, he'd not sent anyone to look for him. There was no need.
Two days previous Cerebro had suddenly come to life, alerting everyone present to the fact that Mercury had used his powers to take his leave of the Institute. The professor had been the only one present at the time and was rather grieved to see his student turn traitor. For not only had Cerebro spoken of his departure, but it had showed him knocking hastily on the door to the Brotherhood of Mutants. Xavier wasn't sure quite how it had happened but somehow Mystique had lured away young Mr. Kingsley.
When news began to travel that Sean had left, never to return, rumors spread like wildfire throughout the students. Someone claimed he'd melted and then evaporated, another swore they'd seen him go into the Danger Room with Logan and heard a distinct screaming shortly afterward. Kitty pointed out that it was probably Sam Guthrie, who'd accidentally put a sizable dent into Logan's precious motorcycle and been assigned to extra training sessions as punishment.
Three days after Sean's flight, Xavier called the multitudes to him at dinner and explained that their comrade had left them to join the Brotherhood. The room went very still and everyone went to bed to consider what had happened. They'd never lost a student to the Brotherhood. Xavier put a hand to his palm, rubbing the tension away. Somehow he was certain this wouldn't be the last time.
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Friday morning came and Beth was forced to endure another awkward Chemistry lab. Pushing multi-colored beads together, she constructed her DNA model with much less gusto than most of her other projects. The cause of her rather temperamental mood swing was seated cheerfully next to her, gabbing loudly with the blonde behind them.
Sam Donnelly was easily the biggest jerk Beth had ever had the displeasure to meet. Even worse than Duncan Matthews, if it were possible. The first thing he'd ever said to her had been "If you lose a little weight, you'd be really cute." The Brotherhood's newest recruit, he was closest in age to her but there the resemblance stopped. Just now, he was turning on his charm for Ashley, the blonde in the second row.
Sighing, Beth tried to tune out their conversation, wishing desperately that Mr. McCoy would silence them for her. She couldn't help but notice Sam had yet to begin on his DNA model, let alone the lab report. With a grim smile, she rather hoped he'd flunk out of her grade so she wouldn't have to put up with him anymore.
"….and I was like, 'No!' And then he was all, 'But why not?' So I was like, 'Because Sam's cuter, duh!'" Ashley, the girl who up until yesterday had been planning on attending the dance with the German student, leaned forward on her lab table. Beth frowned, wondering if the girl noticed her bra was showing. She was also concerned for the German boy. She couldn't remember his name but he was friends with Evan, so he had to be a decent guy.
Kurt Wagner hadn't come to class this morning. Somehow Beth just knew that foolish girl in the second row had hurt his feelings by dumping him after forcing him to accept her invitation to the dance. Now she had snagged Sam. Not that that was hard, Beth reminded herself; anything with curves in the right places seemed to attract Sam.
"Alright class, finish up your reports and pass them to the front of the class." Mr. McCoy signaled the end of class and, amid the mass shuffling of backpacks and papers, Beth noticed Sam furiously copying her answers onto his own sheet.
"Hey!" Beth snatched her paper away. If he wanted the grade, he should have spent the hour constructing his own DNA model and left Ashley well enough alone. With Sam glaring daggers at her, Beth handed in her papers and headed out into the already overcrowded hallway. It was going to be one of those days.
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Scott Summers, a graduate of Bayville only last May, sat poring over a large text in the library. Surrounding him, several of the younger students huddled together, having chosen to be homeschooled as opposed to attending Bayville Junior High.
Out of nowhere, a bodiless voice resounded inside Scott's mind, "Cyclops, we need you in the garage."
"What's up, Professor?" Scott asked mentally, turning shaded eyes back to his book. He only had another three pages.
"Just a little …. mission with Logan." Xavier replied, hesitant about asking for such a favor from someone three floors beneath him. Hearing the uneasy tone in the Professor's request, Scott got to his feet and gathered his belongings.
"No problem." Scott sighed but obediently followed his orders, slipping a piece of paper from his pocket into the book and lugging it back over to the shelf. Soon enough, he was on his way outside to the garage.
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Although she didn't have a date, Beth was glad tonight was the night of the dance. The gym had been decorated with gaudy construction paper, balloons, and streamers. At long last, the trivial gossip would end and life would return to normal. But Beth had not counted on what awaited her the moment she set foot back inside the home of the Brotherhood.
"It wasn't me!" Todd yelled, hopping up the stairs in a hasty fashion. Beth paused in the entryway, watching Miss Darkholme's eyes flash angrily at the young mutant.
"What going on?" Aimi asked, flouncing in after Beth with Lance bringing in the rear.
"We've been robbed!" Fred whined, looking around desperately to make sure his secret stash of Malamars had been overlooked in the raid.
"Robbed?" Beth was incredulous. They had no possessions of any great value; who would be dumb enough to rob them?
"But nothing's gone." Lance raised a brow, glancing at the television set and over to the kitchen. Sure enough, everything seemed to be present, though somewhat reorganized.
"It was Xavier." Mystique, known to her new recruits as Miss Darkholme, sneered angrily. Beth had never seen her so angry.
"The X-geeks, no way!" Todd called from the top stairs. "We'd have seen them!"
"How would you know? You and Fred spent the day at the mall, forcibly collecting cash as you so eloquently put it." Mystique was positively livid, staring at a square patch of wood, surrounded by dust. Though Beth had never seen its contents, she knew Mystique had kept a locked suitcase there that had seemed to be of some importance.
"What's an X-geek?" Beth asked. Beside her, Aimi just shrugged. They had yet to be truly informed of their rivals at Xavier's Institute.
"Girls - get upstairs. Lance, Toad, Freddy – you boys come with me." Mystique led the way back outside for a private chat.
"Pah, we can do anyt'ing boys do!" Aimi stuck out her tongue and trotted grudgingly up the stairs. But Beth didn't follow. Her mind screamed at her to get upstairs but her heart said go outside. That did it. For the time she'd spent amongst the other mutants, her thoughts were becoming less and less like her own. She was sick of the migraines whenever her past was brought up, annoyed of weird dreams of dolphins and a dark-skinned man with a yellow ponytail. One rebellious moment later and she set foot outside the door.
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A white flash crossed her vision. She had stepped out of her body, left it behind. Her mind cried over and over again for her to turn back. From out of nowhere, a stinging ache flooded her mind and sent her to her knees. Tears stung her eyes and Beth gave a cry of pain and confusion.
Mystique glared furiously at a dark window upstairs but the damage had already been done. Lance, good-hearted boy that he was, was the first to rush forward. He spoke her name over and over again, holding her hand and feeling her head. She was burning up.
Looking dumbstruck, Todd and Freddy glanced up to Mystique for leadership. Without an explanation, Mystique stormed back inside the house and up the stairs, slipping inside a room no one had ever seen before.
Her vision clearing, Beth calmed down instantly. Her mother was telling her to be a good girl, to be quiet. "Mama?" She asked, reaching forward to touch the beloved face. As her senses returned to her, she found Lance's brown eyes watching her intently and heard snickering from somewhere out of sight.
"Beth?" Lance had never seen anyone with her symptoms. Her fainting spells and headaches were becoming more and more common, as were Aimi's. Even the boisterous Sam had come down with something akin to a three-hour coma upon his arrival.
"I saw my mother." Beth stated. It was very important that she get him to understand. "She told me to be good."
"I know, you called me 'Mama'." Lance glanced over his shoulder as Todd and Freddy began chuckling once more.
"No, you don't understand. I saw my mother. She spoke to me but it wasn't her." Beth looked up at the sky, tears spilling onto her cheeks. "It couldn't have been her."
"Because she's back in Hawaii?" Lance prompted.
"Because she died when I was three."
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At the Xavier Institute, Charles Xavier was seated at the head of a long table in the Danger Room. Seated before him were his young X-men: Scott, Jean, Kurt, Rogue, Kitty, and Evan. On either side of him Ororo and Logan wore expressions of worry and annoyance, respectively.
"Forgive the surroundings but the Institute is no longer safe for this sort of conversation." Xavier began heavily. This little revelation came as no surprise. The assembled group knew exactly what had happened with Sean. "It is not often we must resort to illegalities to achieve our means but today it was unfortunately required. Today Scott and Logan broke into the home of the Brotherhood of Mutants."
As soon as the words had been spoken, several students stared in silent shock. Sure, Logan had been a rule-breaker for as long as anyone had known him, but Scott?! Even Jean seemed surprised and, glancing uncertainly to the chestnut-haired youth, could see he was not entirely pleased with what had happened.
"Last week, three of Cerebro's printouts went missing." Xavier spoke again, this time more pointedly. "It appears that young mister Kingsley has taken the liberty of selling them to Mystique. The files were concerning Aimi Chin, Sam Donnelly, and Elizabeth Jenkins."
"Sam's in our Chemistry Lab!" Evan piped up, astonished. He'd had no idea that Sam had been a mutant.
"So's Beth." Kurt pointed out.
"And Aimi's in home-ec with me." Kitty volunteered.
"I'm aware that you've met them and that is yet another reason I must call on your services. There's something strange about these three students. There is some force at work here; someone other than Mystique seems to be behind their recruitment." The Professor continued. "I want each of you to pair up and find out what precisely is going on with the Brotherhood."
As one, the assembly turned to look at Kitty Pryde. She rolled her eyes; she should have seen it coming. Spy on the Brotherhood to get dibs on the three new students? "Fine, I'll call Lance in the morning."
"Well, with that settled, I believe you have a dance to attend. Have fun." Xavier tried to be cheerful but with the anxiety of his orders looming over their heads, those who were still dance-bound were hard pressed to muster up any sort of high spirits.
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Author's Notes: For those who read my Jott fic "Snowed In", I forgot to mention it was a one-shot. Sorry guys!
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