Disclaimer: A long time ago in a galaxy far, far, away…I still didn't own the X-Men. I own this great idea, Marc Maseon, and the unfamiliar characters in this chapter.
A.p.R. - Well, this is by far the biggest chapter I have ever written. And the best. I'm not going to waist any more of your time so I'm going to let you read and leave me a really big review. Enjoy.
--------------------------------------------------All Good Things--------------------------------------------------
Duncan Matthews: Jock, stud, captain of the football team, the most popular guy in school. How did he get here? On his knees, defeated, his nose bloody and his letterman jacket's shoulder nearly torn off and muddy. The cold, pouring, rain beating down on him in the darkness of the night. His only light being that of the pale moon which reflected in the rippling puddles that covered the ground.
How did this happen?
This morning…
The ringing of the alarm clock was enough to drive a guy crazy. An arm reached out from underneath the covers and started feeling around for the noisy device, knocking random things off the nightstand in the process.
The hand finally felt the old-fashioned clock and pressed the button, then went back under the blanket.
"Duncan…time to get up, sweetie!" Sally, his mom, called from downstairs.
He groaned from under the tan blanket. Sitting up in bed, he bent forward, his eyes squinting from the bright light shining through the curtains in his room.
He ran both hands over his face and through his blonde hair before giving a groan as he stretched his arms over his head. He twisted his torso from side to side, popping his back. Sliding to the side of the bed, he stood up and began his morning calisthenics in the center of his large room.
His room was as it should be for a high school jock, a trophy shelf of all of his awards, a few posters of his favorite sports teams and one above his bed of his favorite 'athlete' Anna Kournikova. The carpeted floor only visible through the piles of clothes and equipment scattered across it's surface.
"Duncan, are you up?" Joe, his father, asked as he knocked on his door. Joe is about six feet tall, he was a little round mainly due to his beer belly, and he had a receding hairline.
"Yeah, pops." he said, doing sit-ups as his father entered the room.
Joe smiled at his son and helped him off the ground. "That's my boy right there, always keeping in shape for next season."
Duncan gave a little chuckle. "I have to or I'll end up with one of those…" he said, patting his old man's beer belly as the walked downstairs.
"Hey, boy, I used to have a six-pack." Joe protested.
Sally walked over to the table and set down a large plate of homemade chocolate chip waffles. "And now you have one daily - now sit down, your breakfast will get cold."
Sally was very pretty, she was the all American girl in her time.
Duncan took a big whiff of the meal. "Thanks, mom, my favorite." he said, as they all sat down at the table.
Joe unraveled the curled up newspaper and unfolded it in front of him.
They all pretty much ate the delicious breakfast in silence for a few minutes.
Joe scoffed and tapped the paper with the back of his hand. "Looks like some muties got into a scrap in the ol' rundown warehouse two days ago." he said, annoyed. "One girl died. No sweat off my back, I hope those freaks God damn kill each other."
"Joe, no swearing at the table, please." Sally scolded.
Joe shook his head and sighed. "You know how I get when it comes to those punks. They make it unsafe for our kids at school. They think they're better than us and you know something, they push our kids around too, don't they champ?" he asked, patting Duncan on the back.
Duncan took a bit of his waffle then had a sip of his orange juice. "Yeah…dad." he replied, sheepishly.
"See, what's wrong with America now - when good boys like Duncan can't go to school without being bullied by!" he said then sighed, heavily. "Okay, I'm sorry…let's just get off the subject. So Duncan, we get your physical results back today - then you can make the baseball team."
"Yeah…"A horn honked from the outside. "Oh, that's Taryn." Duncan's head turned then looked back at his parents and smiled. "Great breakfast, ma. Catch you guys later." he said, getting up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder and running out the door.
He headed out, nearly tripping on a lawn gnome. "Damn gnome." he muttered. under his breath. Duncan jumped over the passenger door of her convertible and into the seat. "Hey, babe." he said, giving her a kiss.
"Hey." she said with a smile then began driving. "Oh, did you hear about that big fight over the weekend?" she said, very valley-girlish.
"Fight…?" he wondered, an eyebrow raised at this.
"Yeah, some of the mutants from Xavier's Institute for freaks and some other muties got into a huge fight." she stated. "The news said that there was this one girl who one of the mutants killed."
"No way." He dug around
"Yeah, the channel nine news said so…" she said, then contemplated for a moment. "Though, they also reported that the sun was blotted out on LA last year, but that's just crazy."
Duncan chuckled. "Well, I think I'm going to have a little chat with Drake today. See what he knows."
"Sounds good, tell me what you find out, Duncan." she said.
Scott's car passed them; Jean, Bobby, Amara, Jubes, and some others were also seated in the red car.
"Yo, Summers, how you guys doing?" Duncan joked, noticing the injuries on some of the mutants.
Scott grimaced and grinded his teeth. "Jean what did you ever see in that guy?"
"I've been asking myself that same question for a long time now." Jean replied.
"What did you ever see in that girl, Dunc?" Taryn asked.
"She was hot…" he said then really thought about that. "But not as hot as you, Taryn." he added nervously; she smiled.
Within about ten minutes they arrived at Bayville High, parked in the student lot, and headed into the building.
"S'up, man?" Steve said, doing a little handshake with Duncan.
Brandon and Dunc slapped hands. "Hey." he said.
"Did you see the game last night?" Steve asked with a grin.
Brandon stomped his foot. "Oh yeah - Nash was on! Did you see those shots? He sank 'em all!"
"Yeah, yeah, he just got lucky." Steve waved his hands in front of him.
"Naw, man, he's the man! Am I right, Dunc?"
"Yeah…" Duncan wasn't paying too much attention to the conversation, his focus was actually on one banged-up mutant. "Yo. Drake!" he called, hands cupped around mouth.
Bobby didn't hear him, nor would he have acknowledged him if he did. Duncan snickered a bit as he pushed his way through the crowd to get to Bobby, but out of nowhere, Mr. Reynolds, walked in front of him.
"Reynolds, uh, good morning…" Duncan said, surprised.
"Mr. Matthews, I wanted to talk to you about your lab in biology and-" he started however the bell rang, putting a halt to that business. "Well, it appears that time is not on our side right now. I'll talk to you third hour."
Duncan nodded nervously and ran off to class. "Am I in trouble?" he pondered to himself as he stepped foot inside the structure.
First hour was cake. Physical Education class. It was like recess for him. They played football and he tackled Summers so hard, he and his friends laughed about that one for a good long while.
About thirty minutes into his second hour calculus class he became weary of the confusing symbols in the work packet. "Glad that coach talked the teacher into passing me." he thought with a quiet chuckle. He yawned and stretched his arms to the side before resting his head and arms on his desk.
In what felt like a few minutes, his head shot up, startled, as the bell rang. He had been out for an hour. Steve laughed. "Have a nice dream?"
"I dreamt about…plants." he replied, groggy.
Steve's eyebrows raised. "Plants? You had a dream about plants?"
"Yeah- planting some kisses on Taryn." he quickly recovered.
Steve grabbed his things and walked away mouthing. "O…k."
Duncan stood up, lackadaisically, and walked off to enjoy lunch.
In the cafeteria, Bobby was sitting at one of the tables, in front of him was a bag of white chocolate- covered pretzels as he held one in front of his face.
"If ya don't mind me askin' - what's with you an' those things?" Sam asked, with an intrigued gaze.
Jubes set her tray across from his on the other side of the table, next to Amara. "It really is weird, I think the white chocolate makes Bobby mellow."
"Maybe it's because it reminds him so much of himself?" Roberto said, cackling, sitting down next to Rahne.
"Very funny, I'd laugh if my ribs weren't bruised severely." Jubes said with sarcastic face.
Bobby stared at the pretzel, deeply. "Joke if you must, Robbie, but something about their subtle salty sweetness seduces me…" he said, examining the pretzel between his thumb and index finger. "Huh." He popped it into his mouth.
Jubes grabbed the bag. "What is in this stuff?" She started reading the ingredients when the bag was snatched from her by Brandon.
He mock-read it. "Enriched flour, riboflavin, and, oh, not intended for mutie trash." he said, throwing it to the ground and stomping on it. "Oops, sorry, were you eating that?"
They all glared at him but restrained themselves. Duncan and Steve walked over and stood next to Brandon. "So, I hear you freaks got into brawl - looks like you were on the wrong side of a beating." Steve stated.
Bobby tapped his girlfriend on the hand. "See Jubes, I told you at least two of his senses were functional."
"Common, not being one of 'em - I guess I owe you ten bucks, Bobby."
"Hey, shut up you…"
"Mutie?" Roberto said, standing up. "Because if that was the next word out of your mouth you're not hurting us with it because that's what we are. Mutants."
"Also, according to the news, one of you is a murderer." Duncan said, crossing his arms over his chest.
Roberto sat back down, the mutants grew silent, hanging their heads. "So it is true." Duncan said. "And I'm branching out here and saying that it was one of the freaks that ain't here right now." he turned to Brandon. "Who isn't here?"
"The hot blonde chick, the dude with the crazy hair…and that dope who tried to pick a fight with you a few times." he replied.
Tabitha had badly sprained her ankle and hurt her collar bone while Ray had broken his writing hand and milked it to get the day off.
"You have such a way with words." Jubes said.
"I thought it was poetic." Bobby added.
"No one murdered anyone." Amara snapped, in a rare display of anger. "Marc was trying to-"
"Oh! So it was that Marc guy. Couldn't say it surprises me. He was always such a violent guy." Duncan said, a smug smile plastered on his face.
"He didn't do it on purpose-" she started again but stopped as she felt Rahne put her hand on hers and shook her head. "No! I'm not going to let them call Marc a killer just because-"
"He killed someone?" Brandon said, finishing her sentence.
Steve looked at Amara then at the others. "Is he in jail?"
"He should be." Duncan added.
"Problem, boys?" Lance asked, walking over to them.
"None of your beeswax, Alvers." Steve said.
Roberto scoffed. "Glad to see someone has been studying up on their kindergarten comebacks."
"Shut it, Alvers, this doesn't concern you." Brandon said.
"Leave 'em alone, Duncan...and friends." he said.
"Aye, doncha have some milk money ta pilfer?" Rahne asked.
Duncan looked infuriated. "I'll just leave you freaks to chat about your murdering buddy." he said, taking a deep breath. "C'mon, guys." he said, walking away as his little gang followed.
"Look at them…they're like lemmings." Bobby said.
Lance watched them leave. "If we're lucky they'll be heading for a cliff - you guys okay?"
Amara nodded. "Yeah. We're fine. Thanks."
"What did he mean by that 'murdering buddy' stuff and why do you all look like you were in a train wreck?" Lance asked, not really showing any sign of caring, just curiosity.
"Long story." Sam said, eating some of his pizza.
Bobby nodded once, with tiny bandages all over his face. "Involves lies, betrayal, and a vampire…"
"Yeah. Pretty boring stuff." Roberto put in.
"Someone died." Jubes said, quietly and seriously.
Lance's eyes looked a little widened by that. A certain little Kitty came to mind first. He hadn't seen her all day. "Oh God…" he breathed.
"We really didn't know 'er." Sam said; Lance looked relieved by that statement. It was not Kitty.
"Who was it?" Lance asked.
"Like the farm boy said: it's a long story." Roberto restated.
"Not really something we want to talk about right now." Jubes said. "Thanks for getting rid of those jerks."
"No problem…" Lance said, walking back to the Brotherhood table in the back of the cafeteria.
"That was, dare I say, nice of him to get rid of Duncan." Amara said, surprised by Lance's behavior.
"Or two enemies with a common enemy?" Roberto said.
Jubes looked a him, kindly. "That was very profound, Roberto."
He chuckled his words. "I know, I was working on it while they were talking."
Jubes and Amara sighed, rolling their eyes.
Meanwhile, in the hallway…
Steve grunted. "Alvers, what is his problem?"
Duncan suddenly had a flushed feeling come over him, his eyes felt warm and his body felt frail.
"It's like my dad said: muties stick together like a flock of sheep."
"Exactly- wait, what?" Steve was perplexed.
"You know a flock of sheep? It's like a flock of geese or a murder of crows." Brandon said as he and Steve walked on as Duncan slowed behind them. He bumped into Rogue and he collapsed to the ground, gasping, eyes wide.
Rogue didn't pay much attention until she heard his strangled gasp on the floor. She did a double take then ran over to him. "Duncan, stand up ya big baby." she snapped and turned to walk away but realized something was wrong. "Duncan…?"
Steve turned around and saw Duncan writhing on the ground slowly with Rogue over him. "Duncan!" he said then sneered at Rogue. "What did you do to him?"
Rogue recoiled. "Ah…Ah…didn't mean to…" she stuttered, terrified.
"You zapped him, didn't you!" Brandon shouted, pushing Rogue out of the way as he and Steve ran over. "Duncan, you okay, man?" he said, slapping Duncan's cheek.
Steve got up and walked at Rogue with hatred in his eyes. "Look what you did, freak! I'm gonna have to-"
Scott stepped in between Steve and Rogue. "What are you going to do, hit her?"
"Stow it, Summers, you saw what she did!" Steve yelled, everyone in the hallways looking on at the event occurring.
"Scott…Ah didn't mean to-" Rogue blubbered; Kitty came over to her and put an arm around her, being careful not to touch her skin.
Jean handed Scott's keys to Kitty. "Kitty, maybe you should take Rogue home."
"Okay…" she said, helping Rogue up and walking toward the exit to the parking lot.
The nurse came running over to Duncan's side. "Help me lift him." she said and three students helped her lift him up and carry him to her office.
They set him on one of the cushioned beds, she checked his pulse; it was fine. Duncan had stopped moving around and he laid there calm.
Rogue and Kitty walked through the exit and over to Scott's car. Remy was watching from the shadows behind the thick bushes in the corner. He stepped out with a disconcerted gaze at the panicked look on Rogue's face.
He walked over to her slow, his dark brown trench coat flowing behind him as he walked. "Chere?" he called, concerned, when she didn't answer he turned to Kitty. "Se que survenir à son?"
"I'm failing French." Kitty said, helping Rogue into the passenger's seat.
Remy sighed. "What happen' ta her?"
"No clue - she bumped into this guy in there and their skin must have touched." she said, turning around with him and walking a short distance away from the car, out of earshot from Rogue. "She thinks she hurt him. Badly."
"I'm sure it wasn't wit' malice." he retorted, his thick Cajun accent ever present.
"I'm not saying it was."
He sighed heavily, regaining his composure. "Pardon, Chaton."
"It's okay, Remy. We just need to get her out of here just in case things get ugly."
"Dis town? Ugly?" he said with a scoff, getting into the backseat of the car. "Never."
Kitty slid into the driver's side, started the car, and pulled out of the spot, then the lot. "How are you feeling, Rogue?" she asked.
"Shaken a bit - not stirred." she said, panting delicately. "It ain't like it usually is…"
"Huh?" Remy wondered.
Rogue held her head. "Ah dunno…Ah don' got any of his thoughts bubblin' around in mah brain."
Kitty sighed and nodded. "As can be expected. After all Duncan is the drainee."
"Naw, it ain't that way…I don't have anything." she said.
Remy ran his hand up and down her covered arm, comfortingly. "Mon chere, what're ya sayin'?"
"Ah didn't absorb him at all. He couldn't have touched mah skin." she drawled.
"T'ank Dieu! Ya scared Remy dere fo' a minute."
Kitty smiled but recalled that the issue wasn't resolved. "Then what happened to Duncan?"
Back in the nurse's office…
Duncan had been out for over an hour, his third period class was almost over. Students in their senior year only had classes up to their third hour.
Ms. Hu, the nurse, picked up the phone and was in the process of dialing when the sound of a groan and the ruffling of plastic sheets turned her attention. She hung up the phone and walked over to Duncan who was now awake.
"Duncan, are you okay?" she asked, sticking a thermometer in his mouth, under his tongue.
"Rime frine." His words were garbled and mumbled.
"Did you just swear at me?" she accused.
"Roh." he replied. He looked irritated as he took the thermometer out of his mouth and tossed it on a table. "No…and I'm fine."
"Do you know what happened to you?" she asked, putting her hand to his cheek to feel if he had a temperature.
He raised a brow. "Yeah…it felt like I got a blood rush to my head and then just dizzy…now I'm here."
"Was this before or after the mutant student attacked you?" Principal Kelly said, walking in, and taking a seat in a chair near Duncan's bed.
"Principal Kelly? I was attacked?"
"Yes. By the girl named Rogue. She employed her gifts to render you unconscious." Kelly explained and Duncan's mind was trying to process this. "I placed a call to the Xavier Institute, she is expelled from school as of tod-"
"No she didn't." Duncan stated.
"What did you say?"
"I was out of it before I even saw her- like she could even take me down anyways." he boasted, adding a scoff for effect.
Jean sighed, standing out of sight just to the left of the doorway. She turned to Scott next to her. "It looks like Duncan is back to his timid self again."
"What are you talking about? He's just as- oh right…sarcasm. Gotcha." he said after she gave him an "oh come on" look.
Jean offered a small smile and gave Scott a quick kiss on the lips. "Now let's get home. Logan is waiting for us in his truck - he really doesn't like waiting."
"You'd think the guy could just put in a Blues Travelers cd and relax." he said, making an outward gesture with his hands as they walked outside.
She smiled, nudging him with her shoulder, giggling.
Duncan sat at down on the edge of the bed in the nurse's office. Kelly looked at him in disbelief. "Are you absolutely certain?"
"YES," he said with a mocking chuckle. "I was certain the first two times you asked."
"Well, it looks as if I have a call to make apologizing to Professor Xavier about this ordeal." he stated, latent residual regret in his tone. "Ms. Hu, let me know when you figure out what caused this." he said.
"Yes, sir." she said; he took his leave. She pulled the chair Kelly was in so it was in front of Duncan, a few feet away. "Did you feel nauseous at all?"
"Not really."
"How about now?"
"No…" he replied, slowly.
"Did you eat lunch today?"
"No." he answered. "Oh! But I had a big breakfast."
"I see…" she said, patting her hand on his leg. She stood up and shut the door then came and sat back down. "Now, Duncan, I want you not to think about me as the school nurse, but as a peer."
"A pear?"
"No I said peer."
"Oh. Weird. Okay."
"So, I'm not asking you this as a faculty member." she said, scooting her chair over to him. "When you passed out today…was it because you had been smoking weed?" she said with a look that could not be described.
Duncan was silent for a moment and broke into laughter. "I'm clean."
She scooted back away. "Okay then…but remember you can tell me…I'm cool." she said.
He chuckled quietly and nodded. "Yeah, okay, I will."
She stood, plucked a tissue out of the box and used it to pick up the thermometer, then walked back over to her desk. "So, I'll just call your parents and have them pick you up, okay?"
"No…I'm fine to get home on my own." he replied. "Anyway, my folks are probably not home right now - they had to pick up my physical results from my doctor."
"They don't have cell phones?" she asked, somewhat shocked.
Duncan shook his head, reluctantly. "Pops always says that they'll give you radiation and turn you into a mutie freak."
Ms. Hu gave him a slightly disturbed look that went unnoticed by Duncan. "Oh, before I forget, Mr. Reynolds asked me to sent you to his classroom if you were feeling better."
"Cool. I'll go see what he wants." Duncan said, standing. He looked into an examination mirror and fixed his hair. "He say what he wanted?"
"No…he just told me to have you head down to his room if you were up to it." Ms. Hu replied.
"Okay, see ya." he said, sliding on his jacket and exiting out of the nurse's office.
Ms. Hu looked like she was expecting something. "Oh, thank you, Ms. Hu for not letting me die on the floor in the hallway and keeping me in your office even though I snore. You're the best nurse ever." she said, as if she were Duncan. "All in a days work, young man. You're welcome." she replied as herself.
Duncan made it about halfway to his destination before Taryn jumped at him and hugged him. "I was worried about you."
"Really, why?…it's kinda stupid." he said, not hugging her back. There were too many people around for him to do that; he had a reputation to maintain.
"Well…I thought Rogue had nearly killed you." she replied.
He chuckled. "Hell no, like that would have happened."
"It could have, Duncan." she said, angrily; he just scoffed. She smacked him. "Do you even care how I would have felt if you died?"
"Geez, why would you care so much, Taryn?"
"Would you care if I died right now!"
"Well…I'd be sad, I guess, but it wouldn't be the saddest thing ever."
"I would have lost two boyfriends in a year: one turned out to be a mutant and then you were almost killed by one." She slapped him and stormed away.
"Oh, c'mon! Don't be like that." he called after her, holding his cheek. "Taryn, baby, come on." he added as she stomped out of sight. "Damn." he sighed. "There goes my ride home."
He continued down the hallway until he reached Mr. Reynold's room. He knocked. "Yo, Mr. Reynolds, you here still?"
"Come in, Matthews." he said, erasing his chalkboard.
Duncan entered and saw him in his suit, now covered in chalk dust. "I hear you wanted to see me…or something?"
Mr. Reynolds was about sixty-four, ashy brown thinning hair, and wrinkles on his face. He did look younger than his age suggested however, he was very well educated and had a certain nobility to him. "Yes…about your lab."
"Am I in trouble…?"
"No, no, Duncan. Quite the opposite actually." Mr. Reynolds stated. "Do you remember last Friday in my class…all of you students began working on a seed lab?"
Duncan nodded.
"As you know, one seed was supposed to go without water and be put in a freezer and the other was to be watered and put in a dark cabinet." he said, pointing to two samples sitting on his desk. They were both about seven days along in terms of growth. "Imagine my surprise when I saw your lab."
"Those are mine?"
"Yes, they are both halfway grown in only four days. How did you do it?"
Duncan looked at his seeds in confusion. "Honest to God? I have no idea."
Mr. Reynolds chuckled. "It appears you have a green thumb, Duncan Matthews." he stated, smiling. "But enough for now, I'll let you go home and rest - you've had a long and daunting day. I'll see you tomorrow." he said, moving the specimens back into their proper locations.
"Yeah, see ya." Duncan said, leaving the classroom to find someone to give him a ride home.
He walked out into the parking lot and looked around when he heard a loud sigh. He turned his head and saw Taryn sitting on the back of her car. "Taryn?" he said, walking a little closer. "That you?"
She rolled her eyes. "Duh."
"I thought you were angry at me?"
"I am!"
"Taryn, you know how much I like you. I'm sorry for what I said - I think I was still a little mixed up 'cause of the spill I took earlier."
She turned away as he took a few steps towards her. "I don't know…"
"I'm sorry, I mean it…I am." He put his arms around her waist and kissed her. "Forgive me?"
She bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and groaned. "Get in the car." she said with a smile.
Back at the Institute…
Kitty and Remy got Rogue to their room. Remy waited outside the door.
"Are you sure you're okay, Rogue?" asked Kitty, sitting on her bed looking over at Rogue on her own bed.
"Yeah…Ah feelin' a lot betta." she said, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. "Ah wanted ta say thanks, Kitty."
Kitty smiled. "You're, like, my best friend…no need for thanks. I know you'd do the same for me." she explained.
"How about you?" Rogue asked.
She raised a brow. "What do you mean?"
"How are you doing?" clarified Rogue.
"I'm, uh…I'm fine." she replied, avoiding eye contact because Rogue had the uncanny ability to tell when Kitty lied.
Remy opened the door and Xavier rolled into the room, Remy shutting the door behind him.
"Kitty, I need to have a word with Rogue." he said, releasing the small joystick that he held down to move the chair.
Kitty, taking the hint, grabbed her laptop, and left the room. Remy opened the door for her. "Have you ever considered being a doorman, Remy?"
"Very funny." he mordantly stated, shutting the door.
Kitty gave him a sly smile as she walked down the hall, and turned when she reached the rec-room. She walked over to the couch and set the laptop on her lap, flipping the top up and starting it up.
Tabitha limped by and saw Kitty in the room. She was going to hobble right on by but she noticed a small tear going down her face. She ambled over to her and sat down. "Are you okay?"
She quickly wiped the tear, smearing it down her cheek. "I don't know why people keep asking me that." she said with a loud sniffle.
"Lemme guess, boy troubles?"
"No…"
"Kitty, it's ineluctable…you have to talk about it." Tabby said, putting her hand over her left breast, her collar bone obviously feeling some irritation in that position. She leaned back slowly, putting her ankle up on the coffee table. "You're not maudlin…and I'm not here to exacerbate things…but you need to converse with me about this."
"Are you trying to astonish me with sesquipedalian words, Tabby?" she asked.
"No…" she said, immediately. "Okay, yeah."
"Have you been, like, reading that dictionary in your room?" inquired Kitty.
"It's either that or limp on down to the land of Nod." replied Tabitha. "Listen, Kitty, I can tell when something is wrong."
Kitty closed her computer, set it on the coffee table and looked at her. "I really don't want to talk about it."
"What's to talk about? Marc left without saying goodbye on your anniversary, he hasn't called once." Tabby said.
"I'm worried about him…I'm worried about how he's feeling."
She raised a brow. "Are you worried about his feelings…or his feelings for you?" she said, a silence falling afterwards, Tabby hit a chord with Kitty.
Kitty squinted, angrily. "Was he ashamed of me or himself so much that he could tell me - I could have helped. But, no, he wanted to leave me out so he could be alone with her!"
"…or he just didn't want you to get hurt?"
"He probably didn't want me to find out about Marcia! That jerk."
"…or he just didn't want you see what he was?" Tabby sighed.
"Whose side are you on? Mine…or his?"
"Since when did this become sides?" Tabitha said. "Kitty, I'm not trying to say you're wrong here…but c'mon…why would Marc want to hurt you? He cares the world for you - when you walked in on that kiss he was planning to give you a gift. The gift he worked more than a few little jobs and saved up for the past few weeks to pay for it." she added.
Kitty crossed her arms over her chest heatedly. "Yeah, well…shut up!" she said, turning away from her.
"Kitty-"
"I know! I…know." she said with a sigh. "I needed to vent."
"You think." said Tabby, rolling her eyes. "I'm sure Marc will be back soon."
"Yeah." Kitty said, submissively. Tabby looked at her and smiled. Kitty tried to turn away but Tabs just leaned over and smiled brightly. Kitty couldn't help but smile.
Tabby smirked. "See, smiling does make you feel better."
Kitty smiled. "You were right."
"And recognition makes me feel better."
She stood and picked up her computer. "I'm going to go out into the garden and relax…oh and thanks, Tabitha." she added, starting to walk away.
"Watch the sky…I heard it was supposed to rain later."
Kitty appeared to be in thought for a moment. "Okay."
"Kitty, wait." Tabitha called after her.
She stopped in the doorway. "Hmm?"
"Could you turn on the tube please?" she asked, sweetly, obviously trying to get what she wanted.
Kitty sighed. "Yes, but only because you helped me." she stated, turning on the television and leaving the room. The show that faded in on the screen turned out to be the children's show "Blue's Clues".
Tabitha raised a brow. "Kitty, wait…could you change the station? Kitty? Kitty, I refuse to watch Blue's Clues! Kitty? Kitty?" she called, loudly.
Kitty couldn't hear her at all.
"I will not watch you come back here and change the station." she said.
All of a sudden, she spotted the remote, it was on the coffee table by her foot. She stretched for it but her wounds refused to comply.
Tabby tried a few times to get it. "Almost…there…" she said, giving one last reach for it but exhaled and fell back into the cushions. "Oh the hell with it." she added, giving up and just watched the show.
Meanwhile, Taryn and Duncan were pulling up to the curb at his house.
"Thanks for the ride." he said and they kissed. "I'm going to make what happened earlier up to you. I'll take you out this Saturday for a nice lunch at McDonalds, okay?" he said.
"Sure." she said, inwardly rolling her eyes. Not literally though, that would hurt. "See you tomorrow. Call me later, okay?"
"You got it, babe." he said with a smile and got out of the car with his backpack strap in his hand. Duncan gave a wave and headed for the side of his house, entering through the side entrance and closed the screen door behind him.
"Mom, I'm home…" No one answered. "…Mom…Dad?" he added, a bit worried.
He left the living room, went down the hallway, then strolled into the kitchen. Sighing in relief, seeing his mother and father in this room. Sally was fixing a sandwich, undoubtedly meant for him, and Joe was sitting at the table with four empty bottles of beer and working on a fifth.
"Sit down, sweetie." Sally said and Duncan complied. Sally walked over to the counter, picked up the plate with the bologna sandwich on it, and brought it over, setting it in front of him.
"Thanks." he said with a smile.
"A growing boy needs to eat." she said.
Joe set down his beer bottle with nothing left in it but the froth and foam. "We got your physical results back from Dr. Zink while you were in classes." he said, his voice void of emotion.
"Yeah? I'm not taking any drugs I don't know about, am I?" Duncan asked, jokingly, taking a bite of his sandwich.
Joe looked at Sally and Sally looked back pleadingly but he would have nothing of it. Duncan was oblivious to any of this.
"No. No drugs or alcohol." Sally said, forcing a smile that almost dwindled instantly. "You're a good boy, Duncan. A very good boy…" she added, turning her back to them and sobbing.
Duncan looked over at her, agape. "Mom?" he said, worried. He stood up and walked over to her. "What's wrong?" he asked. She walked away from him. "Dad, what's wrong with Mom?" he asked, not looking back at his dad. "Dad…?"
"You're what's wrong…" stated Joe, bitterly.
"Wha-" Duncan started to say but as he turned around he felt a numbing shock in his kidney region. He fell back, knocking his chair over as he tried desperately to reach for something to hold on to. His plate shattered as it crashed on the ground, along with some silverware, and the waxed fruit centerpiece.
Duncan looked up and saw his father standing over him with a taser in his hand.
"You and your kind are what's wrong!" Joe snarled, tasing his son's leg. Sally turned away with a gasp/whimper, not being able to look any longer.
"Ahhh!" Duncan cried out in a mixed tone. "Dad! What the fu- Ahhh!" he groaned, being tased in the ribs mid-sentence.
Joe kicked his ribs. "How long did you think you'd play us for fools?"
Sally was sobbing loudly. Joe kicked Duncan again and pointed to Sally. "Look what you're doing to your mother!"
"What- what're you talking about?!"
Joe glare was full of rage and centered on his son. "I'm talking about the friggen Wizard of Oz- what the hell do you think I'm talking about, ya filthy mutant?"
"Mutant?" he grunted, clutching his side, his voice nearly absent of breath. "Dad, you're…" he meekly stated, vainly trying to crawl away.
"That doesn't change nothin'." Joe replied, going to tase him once more. Duncan kicked the taser out of his hand and quickly got up off the ground. He had to lean against the wall to keep from toppling over.
Joe walked forward slowly. "That physical told us more that you wanted us to know…"
Duncan was in a furious amount of confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"Your blood's dirtied, Duncan. You're a damn mutie!" he snapped. "I didn't want to believe it…I had three doctors make sure…you were probably using your mutie mind trick things."
"Dad- I'm not a Jedi…" he said, weakly.
"You're dead to me."
"I'm your son-"
"You're not my son!" Joe shouted. "My son is not a freak! My son is a normal boy! You are not my son…you're just something that shouldn't exist!"
Duncan's eyes widened, this statement was painful, irking his most sorrowful emotions.
Joe picked up a beer bottle. "I should beat the mutie outta you right now!"
Duncan moved to the side a little, trying to back away but his back was to the wall in more ways than one.
"JOE!" Sally cried.
"SHUT IT!" retorted Joe, swiping the table causing the other beer bottles to fly at her. She luckily got out of the way of the one that was soaring at her head but the other one broke against her arm. "Sally…?" he said, realizing what he had done and walking over to his wife. He gave a fierce look at Duncan. "DUNCAN!" he roared once more. "Look at what you did!" With an accusing glare, he snapped.
She gave Duncan a look from the corner of her eye, telling him to run while he had the chance. Tears were welling in his eyes, he couldn't go. He and his mother shared a unspoken language of feeling and thoughts. She closed her eyes. "Run." she whispered.
Duncan blew past his father, shoving him to the side, opening and running out the door. The beer bottle nearly missing his head as it shattered against the wall after his father threw it. Duncan tripped outside over a lawn gnome. "Damn gnome!" he growled, forcing himself to his feet.
He ran over to his car. No keys. He was not going back inside so he ran. Ran down the street past the corner gas station and continued running, tears pouring down his cheeks. He ran at least a mile and a half before he felt he was relatively out of harm's way. He slowed down his pace as he realized where he was. He was in a pretty bad part of town now.
He put his hands in his jean pockets and lowered his head; it was best to not make eye contact here. He heard some grunting and shouting from an alley he was passing. He couldn't help but look. He saw a teenager with somewhat green-scaly skin being beaten by two guys. "This'll teach ya to look at my sister." one of the guys cackled, stomping a mud hole in the mutants chest.
Duncan quickly looked away as the mutant pleadingly looked at him. He just kept walking. The data in his head needed processing. He was a mutant. Doesn't seem like it could be hard to come to terms with but he had no clue how it happened. "I've never had unprotected sex, I never shot any needles, I've never used a cell phone but once…" he thought to himself. "I bet it was that one time…I told Taryn that we should just wait to use the payphone, but NOOO-"
"Duncan, yo!" Steve said, pulling up in with Brandon and Jason, the running back of the football team. Steve was driving his dad's blue Plymouth GTX convertible, it was very nice. "What are you doing on this side of town, Dunc?"
Jason got out and walked to him. "Geez, you look like hell. I'm surprised, I heard you got your beauty sleep earlier."
"Home trouble." Duncan muttered.
"I'll take you to Taryn's place. Want a ride, man?" asked Steve.
Brandon nodded. "Yeah, it's starting to sprinkle now." He furthered his evidence by collecting droplets on his outstretched palm.
Hardly moving his head, Duncan looked up at the dark clouds gathering above. "I don't have much of a choice."
"Should have brought a poncho." Jason said, reaching into the backseat of the car and pulling out a potato sack.
"I must have forgot mine at school…" he chuckled, about to get in the car. Out of the blue, Jason pulled the sack over Duncan's head and tightened it so he couldn't see. Duncan suddenly felt a clobbering blow to his back, the clobbering blow of a baseball bat. He fell forward, smashing his head into the door of the car.
"Watch the paint job." Steve said, chuckling as Brandon was about ready to hit him again.
Jason stopped him from taking that swing. "Sure, draw more attention."
Brandon nodded and tossed the bat in the backseat. "You're right, help me pick him up."
"One…two…" Jason grunted. Duncan was very nearly out of it. After today he was barely able to struggle or even fight back as the two guys grunted while lifting him. "Pop the trunk. Pop the trunk!" he added.
Steve opened the trunk by the push of a button. "Chill, Jay."
They loaded their former friend into the trunk, making sure that Duncan hit his head on the side. Jason got into the backseat.
Brandon looked at Duncan in the dirty trunk, barely moving, and chuckled. He slammed the trunk shut and slapped his palms down on the trunk hatch. "Hope you're comfortable!" he crowed, jumping into the passenger side door. "Go, go, go." he added and Steve put the pedal to the metal and they screeched off as the top of the car now converted to stop the rain from getting in..
Duncan was fading slowly, though it was dark in the trunk it seemed his head trauma was willing him to sleep. But just when his eyelids were about to shut they shot open, he was forcing himself to stay conscious and he was struggling.
He listened to their conversation, that was his only link to consciousness. He used their chatter to keep himself going. It felt like an eternity in that dank trunk, the rain coming down a bit heavier now, dripping onto the frame and into the trunk. Soon the car stopped moving.
"Duncan, how are you doing, buddy?" Jason said with a smirk, opening the door and getting out of the car along with the others. They all walked to the back of the vehicle and Steve unlocked the trunk with the key.
Brandon opened the hatch and Duncan dove out at them but Steve caught him and slammed him to the ground hard. "Whoa, hold on, Dunc…you're gonna miss the best part." he said.
Brandon and Steve dragged Duncan by his arms across the asphalt, his knees scraping on the hard blacktop, shredding his denim jeans. They pulled him up on the sidewalk and threw him on the green grass. Jason chuckled and removed the sack from Duncan's head roughly, scraping his face with the coarse material. "Hey freak!"
Duncan looked around, he didn't recognize this place. It was a medium sized area covered in grass and the rain made the ground muddy. "How…" was all Duncan could muster.
"Well, you know, your dad is against cells…I'm not." Steve scoffed, putting his cell phone in Duncan's face. On the screen of the phone it said: "Recent calls: The Matthews House" and Duncan snickered. "Yeah, Dunc…I talked to your dad." he snapped, pushing Duncan into the mud. The dirty, mucky, water splattered up onto Duncan's jacket and face.
"Guys, we're friends." stated Duncan. "Brandon…I knew you since first grade."
Brandon shook his head at him. "I used to look up to you, man." he declared, picking him up and punching him in the gut.
Jason kept him from falling over then punched him in the face. "Yeah, your pop told us how you attacked your mom!" he said, punching him in the face again, bloodying up Duncan's nose.
Duncan had a dazed look of confusion on his wet face, the blood from his nose mixing with the rain. "I didn't…"
"I can't believe you turned mutie…how could you?!" shouted Steve. "We played on the football team together, you were the MVP two years in a row and you…" he trailed off, kicking him in the ribs rapidly. "You…threw it all away!"
Duncan rolled away a bit.
Jason walked over to him and pulled him up to his knees. "You are a disgrace to those MVP awards." he said, pointing to the patch on his sleeve then ripping the sleeve of his jacket so it was almost completely pulled out from its stitching.
The sky had turned black now, few stars could be seen through the light pollution and rain clouds. The stars were not meant for this night, for this night was one fitting for a downfall.
Walking back to the car and getting the bat, Brandon walked back over to the mutant. He raised the wooden club and struck down at Duncan, hitting him in the top of his back.
He let out a muffled, mangled cry as he laid on his stomach. "Arrgh!" He dug his fingers into the mud, using the ground as a sort of stress ball. His eyes turned a bright shade of jade and all of his veins began flowing with what looked to be forest green blood.
Brandon was about to clobber him again just as he noticed the huge tree behind Duncan began to shake a bit. "What the…"
The ground quaked some. Brandon dropped his bat. Steve looked at them, hiding his panic. "I think he's had enough." he stated, trying to slowly back up but the tremors made him flop into the mud.
Jason nodded violently. "Yeah, let's get out of here!"
He quickly got back up but the other two had already begun running back to the Plymouth. "Wait…WAIT!" he shouted, running to the car. Ignoring their muddy and wet shoes and clothes they all got in. "My dad's gonna kill me…" he said, taking off as fast as he could.
Duncan glared ferociously, grinding his teeth and narrowing his eyes as his breath labored. His grip on the ground was slowly becoming less and less until he collapsed completely. In a few moments his eyes went back to normal and his veins did the same. He pushed his upper body up but his lower half didn't want to comply. "Errr…" he groaned.
It took him a few minutes to finally get up; he wobbled over to the lonely street. He hobbled downed the center of the road for about a half an hour. Not knowing where to go, not having a place to go to. No one to help, no one to care. He was alone now. With no other sounds, the pattering of the rain became mesmerizing.
He could not go on any longer. He dropped to his knees.
Duncan Matthews: Jock, stud, captain of the football team, the most popular guy in school. Here. On his knees, defeated, his nose bloodied and his letterman's jacket shoulder nearly torn off and muddy. The cold, pouring, rain beating down on him in the darkness of the night. His only light being that of the pale moon which reflected in the rippling puddles that covered the ground.
Duncan pulled himself to the curb and onto the sidewalk, laying flat out on his back as the rain blurred his eyes. His abdomen moving up and down quickly as he panted.
He sat up, straining himself to his knees, weakly. Dragging himself up with the aid of a gate and the crevices in the brick wall they were attached to, he grabbed onto a plaque that was mounted on the wall to get to his base.
His entire body was beaten and bruised, his clothes, muddy and drenched. The now deafening rain that ensconced him made his footing slippery. He looked up, his soaked hair matted against his forehead, beads of water flowing down into his eyes, slightly blinding him.
He rubbed his eyes to clear his vision.
His eyes softened.
He, Duncan Matthews, was standing at the gates of The Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters.
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