It had been exactly one hour and thirty seven minutes since Mystique said she and Rogue would be back.
About ten minutes after that original time Jacelynn found herself in the living room, curled up on the armchair and staring at the door. Waiting.
Every passing minute she grew more anxious. What was the holdup? Mystique was nearly always back exactly when she said she would be. What's different about today?
The last time Mystique was late Jacelynn spent the night on the living room couch of the small apartment they were using (the actual owner was "elsewhere" as Mystique put it). That time there was a slight hitch in the plan that took some time sorting out. But she came back fine, just tired.
Jacelynn can't stop herself from envisioning the other times when it was later in the day and people she cared for weren't home when they said they would be.
When her parents didn't show up on time…
She shook her head. No, it's not like that. Mystique is a powerful mutant and she can handle herself.
So were they, a little voice in the back of her head chimed in.
None of that matters, she tried to reassure herself. I'm not even worried, because everything is fine, she told herself, in fact, I can get out of this chair anytime I feel like it.
Jacelynn did not move from the chair.
After an hour, maybe a few, the door was thrown open and the lights turned on. With some struggle, Jacelynn opened her heavy eyelids as best she could, relief washing over her as she saw the familiar figure of her mentor, closing the front door with quite a bit of force.
"Ungrateful brat." she heard the woman hiss to herself. "All it took was one boy and she forgets everything I've done for her." she stopped once her gaze met the tired younger teens. "Jacelynn," she began, her tone becoming more exhausted than angry. "Must you do this every time?"
The teen gave a shrug, slowly pushing herself into a sitting position. "You said you'd be back hours ago and then you weren't. Are you ok?"
Mystique sighed, running a hand through her hair. "Yes, I'm fine. Of course I am. There's no reason for you to do this."
"How do I know you won't just up and leave? Run off to Europe or something" she questioned, giving up the battle on switching positions and letting her head fall back to the soft padding of the side of the chair, curling up.
"I'm not going anywhere. Not without you in any case. I won't-" Mystique straightened up, seemingly realized what she's saying "Your powers are valuable and you haven't yet outlived your usefulness," she finished briskly, not looking Jacelynn in the eyes.
Jacelynn smiled softly at the uncharacteristic caring tone that had appeared for a brief second,eyes closing. "Whatever you say Mystique. Whatever you say." With that, she was sleeping once again.
That next morning, Jacelynn awoke only a few minutes after dawn. She sat up and stretched, the blanket which had been strategically placed to cover most of her face falling onto the floor.
Had she fallen asleep with a blanket on? She couldn't remember.
Unlike Mystique, Rogue did not end up coming back. During her brief stay at the brotherhood Jacelynn's feelings had become mostly impartial- she had a decent enough humour but in general, took things a little too seriously. However finding out she left for the Xmen, and doing so without so much of a goodbye? That shifted her opinion of the teen to a solid dislike. The first day or two it was strange, but they got over the decrease in numbers swiftly and got on with their lives.
"Todd!" Lance hollered, shifting from where he had been previously leaning against the wall.
"It ain't my fault! You people forgot to tell me!" he yelled back, followed by some slamming and crashing coming from what could only be his room as he scrambled around it.
"We reminded you three times last night!" Jacelynn chimed in, adjusting her duffel bag strap.
"Well ya really should have made sure I was payin' attention!"
Pietro rolled his eyes. "I say we just leave him. In fact, why don't we just cut and run and spend the week at a resort instead. That sounds much better then going to some dumb survival camp."
"If you feel like pissing off Mystique, then be my guest. But the rest of us aren't going to take that risk." replied Lance.
"But she's not here right now! She'd never know!"
"Uh, but what if she comes back?"
"Then she'd be here with no idea and we'd be off at a resort living the highlife. It's a perfect plan!"
Jacelynn scoffed. "It's Mystique- I'm pretty sure she has eyes in the walls. "
At this point in time Todd leaped down the stairs, his bag only half zipped, landing very ungracefully in front of them."I think I got everything," he said.
"You better, because we aren't going to turn back, at this point we are going to be lucky if we actually get to the bus on time." commented Lance, already heading out the door.
Jacelynn followed behind him. She wasn't thrilled about the idea of a week long survival camp, but she was glad to get out of Bayville High for a bit. If she was gone for a week, the gossip about her would probably die down, and she could go back to just listening to gossip instead of being the subject of it.
All 40 something teenagers piled onto the school bus. Lance and Fred shoved and elbowed their way to the front of the line, scoring the five of them the best seats - the back of the bus, the furthest they could get from any teachers onboard. She plopped down next to Lance and pulled out her book, hoping to tune out the noise 40 something teenagers on a bus would bring.
At around what she could only assume was halfway through the trip, someone hit her leg with their foot. She looked up, not bothering to hide her irritation. Naturally, of course, it was Pietro who had claimed both seats across the aisle from her.
"What are you reading?" he questioned.
"Oh- Shakespeare. Midsummer's Nights Dream."
"You? Read Shakespeare?"
Jacelynn shrugged. "I like drama, I like plays, I like reading about characters that manage to be bigger assholes than me. Shakespeare is kind of perfect for me." Middleschool Jacelynn had landed the part of Juliet in her school's very sanitized production of Romeo and Juliet. She had decided she was going to become the expert on the play in part to protect her role from this girl named Danielle who seemed hellbent on taking it away from her. Probably because she was stuck playing a tree. Jacelynn came across Baz Luhermans Romeo + Juliet during her research, a movie she was admittedly far too young for when she first watched it. But it was the best thing ever to preteen Jacelynn and it sent her on the path to consuming every bit of Shakespeare she could find, even if she didn't understand most of it at that age.
"Midsummer in particular also has the appeal of interpreting everything as a really shitty acid trip."
She arches an eyebrow."And you know this how?"
"Because I've read it. Duh."
Now it was her turn to be surprised. " Really?"
"When you do everything as fast as I do, you start looking for ways to fill up time. They're not that bad, though sometimes they get a bit dry but I get through it by reimaging the scenes set in an Arbys."
The absurdity of the sentence she just heard made her laugh instinctively. "That's a strategy I've never heard," she admitted, "You do that in every subject when it gets boring?"
"Nah. I don't need to. I just zone out and ace tests with my intelligence alone."
Jacelynn rolled her eyes, closing her book. "And here I thought we were about to have a nice conversation. But alas, your insatiable ego strikes again."
Pietro tutted. "Now now 'Lynn, I know you're grades aren't as good but you should know jealousy isn't a good look."
She glowered. "My name isn't 'Lynn."
"Sorry 'Lynn. What was that, 'Lynn? I couldn't quite here you there 'Lynn, you'll have to try again," he responded with a grin.
"Keep this up and I'm going to personally ensure Evan Daniels scores higher then you on every test in the classes you share for the next month."
The other mutant gasped. "You wouldn't!"
"Try me."
"Could you two knock it off?' interjects Lance from beside Jacelynn. "I'd like to finish this bus ride in peace."
"Aww," cooed Pietro in a mocking fashion, "Did someone miss their afternoon nap?" Their previous argument forgotten for the moment, Jacelynn allowed herself to snicker at the look that comment got from Lance.
"Fuck off."
"Yeah, Pietro. Obviously he's grumpy because Scott Summers has the audacity to exist within ten feet of him on this bus. Isn't that right?" That earned a brief chuckle in return from the speedster.
"I need a cigarette," Lance groaned, rubbing his forehead, "No, wait. Two. One for each of you."
Jacelynn's vain hope that she could forget about the rumours that dogged her at school for awhile were immediately dashed when they arrived and she discovered the sleeping arrangements. One cabin for the boys and one for the girls. As in one singular cabin for the girls.
As in she was going to be stranded by herself during the evenings, stuck in the same building as Jean and all of her friends.
She stopped dead in her tracks, putting her face in her hands. "Do you think anyone would notice if I pretended to be a dude for a week?" Jacelynn asked, mostly to herself, but Lance stops next to her.
"What's the big deal Jacelynn?" he questioned, "It's just a normal camp cabin. You won't be sharing beds or anything."
"You wouldn't understand," she waved a hand. He looked at her strangely, but didn't press.
"Don't sulk for too long, I don't think thats gonna fly with head counsellor," he told her as he walked away.
He was right, unfortunately. Sergeant Whatshisface wasted no time in throwing his weight around.
She sighed, resolved to invest in getting girl friends to make scenarios like this more bearable in the future, and walked inside.
Evidently, she'd waited long enough and the cabin was mostly empty. Save for one Kitty Pryde
"Oh,Jean can you-" she stopped sorting through her suitcase and looked up, pausing in her sentence once she saw Jacelynn in the doorway. "Oh, aren't you that brotherhood girl?"
"Actually they're all the boys in my sisterhood," Jacelynn responded snarky as she walked past her, dropping her duffel bag onto the bed furthest from the one Kitty was sitting on. "But I have a name that works too."
"Like yeah of course, it's…" the Xman trailed off, brows furrowing as she looked at the other girl up and down, like she was searching for a hidden name tag.
"Jacelynn," she said flatly once she figured out the younger girl wasn't going to get it.
"Jacelynn! Right - oh hey, you're the one who hit on Jean's boyfriend!"
"Good fucking lord!" Jacelynn wheeled around, "How many times do I have to say I didn't do that!"
Kitty put her hands up. "Don't shoot the messenger. That's just what everyone's been saying y'know? And like you do kinda dre-"
"If you comment on what I wear I will take scissors to everything in that suitcase," she snapped. The other girl paled immediately, her jaw snapping shut. Satisfied her point had been made, she stalked out the door.
Jacelynn wasnt even wearing anything all that revealing! Just a normal pair if shorts and a t-shirt.
Ugh.
This was shaping up to be a very long week.
"And this is supposed to be tied to survival… how?" Jacelynn questioned, her hand over her eyes blocking the bright sunlight as she stared at the second task of the day. The first was a simple kilometre run, and as expected Pietro "won" with ease. He'd been rubbing it in everyone's faces - especially Evan's - for the past thirty minutes, despite multiple people telling him it had not in, in fact, been a competition.
But running? Sure, that was something you could explain as useful survival skill. But this? "This is just an obstacle course on steroids"
"I think it's just to build muscle or something." Todd commented from where he was lounging on the ground, his eyes following a fly buzzing around his head.
"There has to be more practical ways to do that though. This all seems so pointless! What does ziplining even have to do with survival anyway?"
"Practical or not it's fun to watch." replied Pietro. This was promptly followed by Fred snapping his rope and tumbling to the ground, which sent Pietro into a bout of snickering. Lance was the only other one of their merry band of ne'er do wells taking part in this round of the obstacle course, and he was fairing much better. The only person ahead of him was Summers.
"This is going to end badly. I can already see it," she commented.
"What do you mean? You don't think Lance is going to win?" Todd asked.
"Oh no, Lance has a good shot at winning, but he is up against Scott. There isn't a way powers aren't-"She couldn't even finish her sentence before the X-geek took a very unnatural looking tumble into the lake. "Sometimes I scare myself with how well I know you people."
Todd leaped into the air, getting more than a few feet off the ground without even trying. "He's gonna win! C'mon Lance! Show those losers up!"
Lance made it a whopping distance of halfway across the small lake before a "mysterious" and "strange" red beam sends him toppling out of the raft and into the water.
"Summers has some nerve doing that." scowled Pietro.
"You gotta be kidding me!" shouted Todd.
"Now that was real subtle." Jacelynn shook her head. "He's dumber then I thought."
With no one else anywhere close to the finish life, Summers passed through the finish line with ease. His friends obnoxious cheering started immediately. Pietro, Todd and her all shared a look - no need to verbalize when they were all clearly on the same page - and stalked over towards the Xmen.
"That loser Scott should have lost and you know it." Fred beat them to the other group, stopping in front and easily towering over everyone there.
"Yeah," Pietro moved forward. "Just because he slipped and took a bath the guy went ballistic!"
"Slipped? More like avalanched." retorted Smurf, who was not actually blue at that moment, however Jacelynn could not remember his name.
"He stole that first place ribbon!' chimed in Todd.
"He did not!' said Kitty.
"Because lasers just randomly occur in wilderness." Jacelynn rolled her eyes, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
"Oh yeah? If you want that ribbon so bad I'll pin it to your face!" Rogue just about snarled that at her, and quite possibly something else under her breath that she couldn't quite hear as everyone started yelling at each other.
"If you want your hand broken." Jacelynn gave her a sickly sweet smile.
"I'd watch your mouth before-"
A whistle screeches through the air, effectively halting all arguing near instantly. Sergeant Perma-Scowl gave them all a scathing look felt even underneath his sunglasses.
Oh, they were in so much shit.
Sixty pushups and a failed attempt with her power of persuasion to convince Sergeant UglyShades to let her out of the punishment later, Jacelynn was hot and miserable. Rarely did she encounter anyone who had enough sheer willpower to break out of her hold, and this guy wasn't even a mutant! She was very glad Mystique wasn't around, she'd be so disappointed if she knew.
They didn't even get a chance to rest. Sergeant Asshat was ordering them all to stand, so he could menacingly pace in front fo them and deliver his speech. Jacelynn was only half paying attention, catching every couple words. Then he got to the bit of proving how tough they were - and she snapped to attention when he pointed to the "Mount Humiliation" he wanted them to climb.
Or more accurately her heart stopped beating.
Mount Humiliation was the biggest mountain she had ever fucking seen in person.
She followed her friends numbly as they went to prepare. "Sergeant Teenkiller is insane. Absolutely fucking insane."
"I feel like this is illegal or something man. We gotta tell someone." Todd exclaimed.
"Tell who?" Pietro spread his arms out, gesturing around him. "Look where we are Todd. The middle of fucking nowhere. There is one adult here and he's the one sending us on this crazy quest."
Lance walked up behind them. "Quit whining guys. It'll be easy, even without our powers."
Pietro and Jacelynn share a look, something bordering on the edge of panic.
"What do you mean, even without our powers?" Pietro questions.
"Scott tried to tell me that the only way we could beat them is if we cheat and use our powers-
"Lance you didn't." Jacelynn interrupted, preemptively burying her face in her hands.
" So I said that he's wrong as usual. So we decided that no one is going to use their powers for this."
Jacelynn groaned. "You've done and killed us all. How are we going to do this?"
"We'll figure something out, it's just a mountain. What's the worse that can happen?" Lance shrugged, and headed off towards the supply shed.
"Famous last words if I ever heard them." Piretro muttered to her, folding his arms together.
"You're telling me." she sighed, "How much you want to bet one or more of us are going to nearly get killed?"
He gave her a dry smile. "Have you met us 'Lynn? There's going to be at least three near death experiences by noon."
"Oh definitely. And for the love of god don't call me 'Lynn. "
She had to admit Lance's idea of tying ropes connecting them to Fred and having him just scale the side of the mountain was smart. Slightly harrowing and more than a little uncomfortable, but smart.
It also got rather painful right at the end as Fred pulled her, Lance and Pietro up over the jagged mountain side and onto the ledge. Jacelynn felt at least one future bruise on her thigh as she untangled herself from the rope, but in the grand scheme of things it wasnt so bad.
Once sufficiently untangled, the three of them walked over to Fred, who was carefully watching an entrance to -
"An abandoned mine?" Lance questioned.
"Toad's checking for a shortcut."
Todd emerged from the darkness just then. "Ey, there's like a tunnel in there thats a stairway to the top," he tells them, mining walking with his fingers along the wooden sign.
Jacelynn's heartbeat started racing, and she took a small step back. "Oh fuck no. You aren't getting me in there." She couldn't tear her eyes away from the opening. Jacelynn could do the dark, she could do small spaces. Small dark spaces were uncomfortable, but doable. Put all that underground? Terror inducing.
Lance gave her a questioning look. "It's just a cave."
"Yeah. It's dark, underground, and it looks tiny. I can not do that. "
"It' can't hurt you," he replied.
"Yes I know a cave can't come to life and kill me. But we could get lost or stuck or there could be a cave in!" she snapped.
"Don't be ridiculous Jacelynn. We need to do this to win!"
"I don't care about this stupid flag enough to- to have to go in there!"
Lance did not look like he was ready to give up this argument. She wasn't above using her persuasion ability to force her way out of the situation. But, fortunately, Pietro cut in.
"Dude, she's not gonna do it. Let her go up the normal way, and when we reach the top I'll just run down and get her. She doesn't have to go in the cave, and we still win. Everyone's happy."
"Fine," Lance sighed, "See you at the top Jacelynn."
Jacelynn flashed Pietro a grateful smile, to which he responded with a nonchalant shrug, and the group went their separate ways.
She'd expected to get about halfway up the old fashioned way before Pietro came to collect her - but she was nearing the peak of the mountain and nothing. Jacelynn had passed what she expected was the exit Todd had mentioned earlier just a few minutes ago too - and now she was starting to wonder if her fears about getting lost or stuck in the dark depths of the cave system weren't so unfounded after all.
As she pondered whether to feel smug about being right or worried about the boys, the ground began trembling beneath her feet. She stumbled, narrowly finding her balance before she fell on her face. For a second she wondered if the camp was on a fault line, but then a light went off in her head.
"Lance you idiot!" she cried out to the empty air. As soon as the earth stopped shaking she went charging back down the mountain to the exit she spotted earlier. It only takes her a few minutes, and she skid to a halt in front of it.
"Do none of you have brains?" she called down.
"Jacelynn! You gotta help us man!" Todd's voice responded. "We're stuck down here!"
"How?" She dropped onto the ground. " I'm just one person, and I can't talk the rocks into moving off you."
"You have to do something, 'Lynn. I'm too handsome to die down here in the dark!" called Pietro.
"I am."
"You're sitting on the ground. How is that doing something?"
"I'm sitting on the only real path up to the flag, because sooner or later the X-geeks are going to walk up here and I'll get them to pull you out."
"They won't help us," scoffed Lance. "They'll take the opportunity to run off with the flag."
"Nah, they're a lot of goody two shoes aren't they? They'll help you."
"Are you sure?
"Positive. And on the off chance they won't do it willingly, I'll force them to. You guys are annoying, but you aren't 'leave you to die in a cave annoying.' "she joked.
"Aw, Lynn, I didn't know you cared." Pietro said in a sickly sweet tone.
"Yeah? Call me 'Lynn one more time and I'll have them rescue everyone but you."
"You wouldn't!"
She grinned down at where she thought he was in the dark. "Try me."
Just as Jacelynn suspected, when she flagged down the Xmen and explained the situation they agreed to help without her having to force the issue. It took the better part of ten minutes and some team effort, but everyone got out safely.
It was almost a nice moment of camaraderie - if Pietro hadn't immediately dashed off for the flag once he got the last of the dirt off his jeans. The smell of sulfur filled the air as Kurt followed right behind him. Both mutants arrived at about the same time and were pulling the flag around like they were two toddlers fighting over the last chocolate chip cookie.
Jacelynn assumed this was going to lead up into a fight - eyes flickering from the mine shaft and Jean as she wondered if she could shove her down without killing her - when the roaring of engines filled the air.
A giant black jet loomed over the mountain top - and while Jacelynn wasn't exactly a plane expert she could tell this thing was high tech as all hell. A woman's voice boomed out from the loudspeakers. "Xmen, Professor X is in danger. And so is Mystique."
"Up to it?" she heard Scott say to Lance.
"Let's go." was his reply.
"What about the flag?" Evan pointed out, "I did not almost fall of a mountain to not get any resolution to this competition.
"I've got an idea for that, actually," Scott replied with a smile, "Everyone crowd around the flag!"
After a quick pit stop at the camp to grab their gear, the tall woman who introduced herself as Storm gave them a debrief on Juggernaut. The key points it seemed were a) he's Xavier's brother b) he's really mad about being Xavier's brother and c) he was nigh invulnerable to everything but mental abilities - unless he was wearing his specially made helmet.
Once the quick information dump was over, they all had the chance to change, where Jacelynn ended up in something of a dilemma.
Her suit wasn't the issue - it was the same one she'd used for awhile. A high neck, black halter top that ended just above her abdomen, form-fitting black pants with a streak of purple running down the side, tall boots and black arm guards made of a heavy material to give her an extra edge in hand-to-hand combat.
No, the problem was what she was going to look like.
Usually, Mystique gave her someone to be - sometimes she was taking on an identity, sometimes just a rough description for someone who'd blend in. Occasionally Jacelynn got to figure that out, but she never had a default appearance she stuck with - she'd got through a dozen faces in a week sometimes.
But that wouldn't fly right now - her teammates weren't as veteran as Mystique and would need to recognize her quickly. Using her actual appearance was out of the question, and her everyday illusion would be extremely dumb since she didn't have a mask.
So what to do?
She stared into the mirror she'd co-opted and thought. She could have a little fun with it - do something that'd get her strange looks if she was just wandering the mall. She could do colourful hair?
Jacelynn inhaled, focusing, and her hair went from brown to pink. She frowned. Not the colour for her, she didn't think. She focused again, opting to try a rich purple - a little homage to the appearance she didn't use anymore. This fit much better.
She'll keep the rest of her features the same as her "usual" appearance - she'd thrown it on so many times it was like second nature, and expending as little energy as possible on the base illusion was ideal in combat in case she had to do something slightly more strenuous like cover up large wounds.
Still, it needed something else. Jacelynn pursed her lips, scanning her face before an idea hit her. With a bit of concentration, she watched her eyes turn an unsettling black, erasing her irises and the whites of her eyes completely.
I look badass, she thought to herself and grinned.
Jacelynn sauntered back to where everyone had congregated and sat down next to Lance, who does a double take when he sees her.
"Are those your real eyes?" he asked.
"Maybe. Maybe not. You never know with me."
"Uh-huh. Real helpful."
"I do try."
Lance rolled his eyes at her antics. "Anyway, what are we calling you on the field? You haven't mentioned."
"My codename is Glamour when I'm out with Mystique."
"Glamour?" he questioned.
"Another word for alluring beauty and charm. So even in a fight people are complimenting me."
"You're ridiculous," Lance shook his head, "But alright. Glamour it is."
Jacelynn wasn't quite sure what exactly she expected a Juggernaut to look like, but she had to admit the sheer height of this guy took her aback for a second. He had at least a head on Fred, who had previously held the title of "tallest person Jacelynn had ever met."
She got over it quickly, as Jean's attempt to keep him off his feet was short lived - as did Blob's attempt to brute force him down. Juggernaut started charging towards where Blob sat slumped against the wall. Jacelynn wasn't about to see her roommate squashed, so she jumped forward.
"Stop Juggernaut!" she commanded, throwing the full force of her powers of persuasion into her words, "You can't move a muscle."
The man freezes midstep, making a noise of surprise as his eyes snap to glare directly at her. She smirked, full of smug confidence as Quicksilver dashes over to unlatch one of the fasts to the large mutant's helmet.
But then - with a mighty bellow of rage - Juggernaut breaks out of her powers hold and sprints at her, the motion sending Quicksilver flying off of him. She leaps out of the way of his outstretched hands, falling into a combat roll and landing on her feet. That's two people who've broken out of my hold in one day! She can't help but think incredulously.
Juggernaut quickly forgets about her as he's blasted with lazer power from Cyclops, and then brought down to the ground again by Lance. Then Storm's coming in, then Shadowcat and Rogue, followed by Toad - Jacelynn can't help but be just a little bit amazed at how well everyone was working together despite never having all fought on the same side before. The helmet thrown out of his grasp, Xavier subdued Juggernaut, the man collapsing onto the steel floor of whatever room they were in.
And just like that, the Brotherhood was leaving.
As they reached the gates Todd dared to ask Mystique why she was with Xavier in the first place, and in her typical fashion, she snapped at him, turned into a raven and left them to find a way home by themselves.
Looking back at the institute, Jacelynn knew Mystique was after something in that mansion. Something probably heavily guarded.
This definitely wasn't going to be the last time they passed through the gates of the Xmen headquarters.
