Title: Invisible Man
Series: Fic-For-All Fanmix
Author: Jmaria
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Joss owns Marcy, somebody else owns Skinner
Pairing: FfA #2322 Marcy the Invisible Girl / Rodney Skinner (LXG)

Summary: 20 songs, 20 pairings. Invisible Man by 98 Degrees
Part Summary: Unseen by most, guided only by touch and immortality
A/N: Dispend belief, and pretend he hasn't aged Still a twenty/thirty something, k? Wormhole, portal whatever floats your boat.

Invisible Man

He was the only one in the program who'd opted to show himself. White greasepaint covered his face, black hat, coat, boot, and gloves were all he wore. Unlike the other 'students' - his transformation seemed to be permanent. It'd lasted longer than a century. He also happened to be the tutor for Marcie Ross, resident pain-in-the-ass.

He half wondered what this girl looked like, wondered what she felt like, wondered how she'd gotten to this point. All of them, whether they were chosen, experiments, or accidents got here at the Institute for different reasons. Why they chose to stay always interested him, especially since he'd craved his freedom for so long. Long after Nemo, Sawyer, and Jekyll were gone and buried, long after Mina'd craved solitude, Rodney Skinner remained, scarred and invisible to the world. He'd drifted for a while, before his talents and cure were discovered by this lovely group of chaps. The lot of them made his skin twitch, and their assassins needed an Invisible Man to train them. He'd resisted at first, but this group wasn't easy to resist, specially with three assassins trained on him. Three invisible assassins who hadn't bothered with the greasepaint.

But back to Ross. She'd been in the Institute for nearly seven years, and had yet to be given a mission. Why? Because she was still sloppy rather than stealthy.

"Marcie, you still sound like a heard of elephants," Rodney chuckled, hearing her enter the room. "Point is to keep quiet, ducks."

"Bite me," She spat.

He could feel her, in a way. Feel where she was, sense her presence near him. It was too hard to touch another IM, never could feel where one was position-wise, anyway. Normals got a bit freaked when an IM touched them, claimed ghoulies and ghosties were haunting them. But he could feel her eyes boring into the chest of his jacket, feel her eyes on his jumper-covered chest.

"Admiring the workmanship, girlie?" Skinner chuckled, his voice low.

"Planning my next tactical position, sir," Marcie said tartly, beginning to circle.

"And giving it away. Good thief, visible or not, knows to keep quiet. Element of surprise, and all." He nodded slightly when she didn't answer him. Girl was learning. "Been wondering 'bout you, girlie. Trying to figure what made you this way."

"Exposure to the Hellmouth," Marcie replied, slipping around him again.

"Gotta have a catalyst. You don't strike me as one of those nobody-sees-me whiners, Ross. That attitude don't smell of it."

"Power comes with attitude," Marcie murmured.

"I'll be damned, well, even more, that is," he replied. "You are one of those nsm's. How'd they catch you?"

"A Slayer tipped them off, sorta. She fought me, and then they came. Best day of my life."

"Last free day too, girlie," Skinner snapped. "They'll give you a mission if you pass, and the second you fulfill it, you'll be infamous. Hellmouth or magiked ones always turn back. that way."

He lunged for her just as she unsheathed the dagger. He twisted her wrist painfully back, and her fingers sprung open in shock. He neatly and effectively pinned her body against the glass walls. She could feel his breath on her skin, feel his body against hers. He smelled really good. How the hell had he managed to pin her before she'd even moved? And why was she thinking that he smelled good?

"Back what way?" She demanded, wiggling against him. Not a great idea, because he just pressed harder against her. She bit back a moan.

"You off your target and boom, instant recognition. You turned invisible because no one noticed you, and the overload of attention'll turn you visible, most likely still holding the smoking gun."

"Right, like that's gonna happen."

"All the best assassins - all the murders that took place in the last century - the ones that got caught were IM's girlie," Skinner spat.

"What?"

"That's why I keep failing you, besides for your smart ass attitude a course. Don't want to see another one of mine get trapped like that again." His hand stroked gently over where he assumed her face would be, feeling the warmth of her skin beneath his fingers.

"Why just me? Why not the others?" Marcie demanded, "why not tell the others too?"

"They're serum induced, don't affect them the same way. And, well, lets just say that - I see you." His white brow furrowed in confusion.

"What?"

"And you're a looker too. Why'd you go invisible?" He smiled.

"What?"