The country sounds were not as loud as the city, but they were still omnipresent. A coyote howled; an owl screeched; a mouse scurried across the roof. Once again Lisa could not sleep.
She stood at the window for the longest time, trying to decide what to do. She was in an unfamiliar place, and there was nowhere to go to amuse her insomnia. She crept to the living room where Adam was on the sofa. His even breathing told her that he was slumbering.
She watched him, almost envying a normal human. If she could have anything she wanted, she would ask for sleep. She didn't know if she would want to be "normal," but she did wish to have normal rest.
Adam mumbled something and then shouted. "No! Don't go!" He startled her.
Was he awake? No. He must be dreaming, she decided.
"Please, Ororo, I didn't mean to hurt you. Don't go!"
Ororo? What a strange name. Who was Ororo?
Lisa slowly and silently opened the door. She immediately heard the clapping, the tinkling of the small waves. It soothed her a bit.
She stepped outside and looked to the sky. Stars. Stars as far as she could see. She lay on her back looking at the stars. They glittered; they twinkled; one fell from the sky.
Clap… clap… clap…clap… And then strangely enough, sleep claimed her.
"What the hell are you doin' outside?" Lisa could tell it was Adam's voice, but for a moment she was unsure where she was. She slowly opened her eyes. The sun had not come up yet, but the sky was light blue. It was early morning. She could not believe she had slept more than three hours.
She sat up and looked around for Adam. She did not see him. She stood and went inside. A cool hand touched her arm. Before she had time to react, the hand tightened its grip and pinned her forearm securely against her back. "If you move, you will die."
Lisa was confused. What was happening? Why was Adam threatening her? Her arm was suddenly twisted until pain consumed her entire left side.
"Adam, let me go," she gasped.
"Oh, does it hurt?" His voice was mocking her.
"No, it doesn't hurt." Indeed she had felt worse. "What are you doing? What's going on?"
The hand loosened its grip but only long enough to spin her around. She expected to see Adam, but this was not he. She had never seen anything quite like this.
Mystique smiled a mischievous grin and touched Lisa's chin. "You are prettier than I expected. You certainly don't take after you father."
The blue woman's voice was piercing in Lisa's ears. Never had she heard such a voice. Never had a voice caused her so much pain. She adjusted as well as she could, but the vibrations still stabbed at her.
"I'm so sorry Adam couldn't be here to drink morning coffee with you," Mystique said. "Or maybe he drinks morning beer!" She laughed, and Lisa cringed. Not only did her laugh grind on Lisa's nerves, but the words sliced her very soul. This strange woman had been listening to her and Adam's conversations!
One last pain shot through Lisa's body… A warmth ran through her veins… She fell to the floor.
Drip… drip… drip… Lisa opened her eyes and tried to sit up. She could not. She couldn't move at all, in any direction. She saw nothing above her. Nothing but darkness. Drip… drip… drip… Where was she? Oh, God, what's going on? she thought.
She heard a rattling in the distance. It sounded like keys jingling… And then footsteps. Someone was coming. The mental image of the sinister blue woman's face flashed before her in the darkness. And then the lights came on.
The keys rattled across the room, and someone approached. Something clicked, and suddenly she felt different. She strained to move, but the additional force was not needed. She could move freely now.
"That's it," someone said. "Come on and sit up." It was the voice of a young man, but it was not Adam. She turned to face him, and he added, "I've been sent to get you for breakfast."
Lisa studied him momentarily. He was a thin man, no, a child really, with sandy brown hair. He must not be more than seventeen or eighteen, she decided.
"Follow me," he instructed, and she did as he said.
The light was dim, but as far as she could tell, he led her down a narrow corridor. The air was damp and musty. A menacing rhythmic dripping countered their steps. Step. Drip. Step. Drip. She cupped her hands over her ears. She thought she would go insane!
The boy's words broke the mimicking metronome. "I'm sure you have a million questions," he said. "But they aren't for me to answer. Magneto will explain."
Lisa tried to speak, but her throat protested. It was dry and sore. She finally mustered a question. "Who was that woman?"
"Woman?" he asked. "You must mean Mystique. She didn't hurt you did she?"
She shook her head.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't tell you my name. I'm Pyro. Welcome to our humble abode."
"What kind of name is Pyro?"
"You don't like it? Then you can call me John. It's all the same to me."
"Who's Magneto?" She wiped at a drop of water that had pelted her on the forehead.
"I am Magneto." They entered a large chamber, and the sight verified her previous thoughts. They were in a cave. A man walked, no, floated toward them. "Nice of you to join us," he said. He sounded much more distinguished than he looked. She thought his black suit and purple cape were ridiculous.
She moved her eyes from him and surveyed the room. There were several other people standing a short distance behind him. The blue woman, a tall muscular young man, Jack, and Adam. Adam! She wanted to run to him, but Pyro stepped in front of her on his way to join the others.
"Isn't this quite the family reunion," Magneto quipped.
"What? What do you mean?" She kept her gaze on Adam's emotionless face.
Magneto turned to him. "You didn't tell her? I thought you would use it as a ploy. You did it without her knowing? You are better than I thought. Too bad you didn't finish your first mission."
"Adam, what is going on? Please tell me!" Never had she been so confused, so scared.
Adam opened his mouth so reply, but Mystique put a finger over his lips. She grinned and slinked toward Lisa, changing as she walked. When she reached the cowgirl, Mystique stood with her hands in the back pocket of her jeans, Adam's jeans. She was an exact duplicate of the mechanic behind her. "Your precious Adam is your cousin," the disguised Mystique said sarcastically in Adam's voice. "And, ha ha, that would make his uncle Jack, hmmm, let's see, your father!" Adam's clone turned around and transformed once again… into Lisa.
"Oh, Daddy! Daddy, I'm so sorry I've hated you all these years!" Lisa listened to her own voice as it came from the lips of the shape shifter. "Please forgive me, Daddy." Mystique turned blue again and sauntered to Magneto's side.
"Sit," Magneto commanded. "We shall dine, and I shall explain."