ONCE AGAIN I DO NOT OWN THE STAR TREK:TNG NOR X-MEN CHARACTERS!!!!!
The Job
Data opened his eyes and found himself on the Bridge of the Enterprise. Everything to him seemed to be intact. But his Senior Crew had vanished. Data felt confused. The last thing he remembered was going through a portal. Now, he's on the Bridge. Everybody was gone. He was alone.
"Been a while hasn't it, Data?"
Data turned around and saw a familiar face standing behind the tactical deck, smiling at him. A face he hasn't seen in thirteen years.
"Tasha?" He breathed.
Natasha Yar came over to Data, smiling, and took his hands in hers.
"Looks like you put on a few pounds," She said.
"Androids cannot gain weight, Tasha." Data told her.
Tasha laughed. "Could've fooled me."
"Why are you here?" Data looked around. "Am I dead?"
Tasha released Data's hands and walked over to the Captain's chair.
"No, you're not." She replied. "Your system just went into shock."
"So I am in an immobile state?"
"Yes."
"Am I conscious?"
"Not really."
"And you are still dead?"
"Pretty much."
"So I am dreaming?"
"You got it, partner!"
Data looked around the Bridge before coming over and sitting beside Tasha.
"You still have not answered my original question." He said.
"I'm here, Data, because you imagined me here."
"I do not understand."
"When one is faced with a challenging dilemma, they dream, imagine, or picture talking with someone very important in their life. Understand?"
Data portrayed his "Thinker" look. Then he smiled slightly.
"Ah. I see." He said. "I am facing a near-death experience and you are the first person that comes to my mind. Is my crew alright?"
"They're not dead." Tasha replied.
"Am I going to be alright?"
"What do you think?"
Data fell silent for a moment. "I have no permanent damage done to my main functioning systems as far as I can tell."
Tasha smiled slightly and looked away. After all these years, she forgot who she was talking to.
"All right," She said. "Let me rephrase the question: How do you feel?"
Data could feel various emotions surging his circuits from his emotion chip. Happiness from seeing Tasha again, confusion about what happened after the portal, and fear. Why was he experiencing fear? Data looked away from Tasha.
"I…do not know." He said finally.
Tasha frowned. "You're terrible at lying, Data." She said. "This is me you're talking to. How do you really feel?"
Data knew he couldn't lie to his sub-conscious. If he had one. His emotion chip was surging his need to cry. Data breathed a few times to hold back his tears.
Tasha turned Data's face towards her so that they were looking at each other.
"Data." She said softly.
Tears flowed down Data's bright yellow eyes. "I am scared." He said.
Tasha pulled Data close to her and held him tightly. When she did that, Data lost control of all his emotions and broke down crying. Tasha rocked him gently while calmly shushing him.
"Shh, shh." She soothed. "It's okay, Data. It's going to be okay."
"I am the Captain of the Enterprise," Data cried. "I should not break down like this."
"It's okay to be scared," Tasha replied. "We all lose our self-control sometimes and tend to break down. It's all part of being human."
Data lifted his head up from Tasha's shoulder and looked at her; his golden pale face stained with his yellow tears.
"So, it is all right to 'break down' every once in a while?" He asked in a small voice.
Tasha laughed slightly. "That's what I loved about you. Your childlike innocence. Still intact after so long."
"I missed you, Tasha."
Tasha wiped the tears from Data's face. "I missed you too," She said. "And everybody else on the Enterprise."
They sat there in silence, looking at the stars for what it seemed like an eternity.
"Data, it's time for you to go." Tasha said, finally.
"Why?" Data asked, standing up.
"This is just a dream." Tasha explained. "I only exist in your mind."
"Then I do not want to wake up."
"If you don't wake up, you'll die."
"I do not want to lose you again."
Tasha stood up and walked over to Data.
"You're not going to lose me," She told him, smiling. "I may not be with you right now in the real world, but I am with you in your mind and in your heart." She placed a hand on Data's chest.
"But I do not have a real heart."
"Figure of speech, Data." Tasha laughed. "It means that as long as you remember me, I'll always be here."
"Ah. I understand."
There was another silence.
"Tasha, if you had a chance to relive your life, what would you have done differently?" Data asked.
Tasha sighed. "I would've told you how I really felt about you."
Data didn't say anything for awhile. He knew what she had meant. Data lifted Tasha's chin up so she could look into his eyes. Before long, Data and Tasha's lips met. They kissed for what felt like ten minutes before Tasha broke the kiss.
"I love you, Data." Tasha whispered, hugging him tightly. "I always have."
"I love you too, Tasha Yar."
Tasha broke her embrace from Data and held back her tears. "You better go." She said. "I'll see you when I see you."
* * *
As Data struggled to regain consciousness, he noticed a young woman's voice talking to him.
"Data?" She said. "Data, can you hear me?"
Data's groaned. He could've sworn he heard Tasha again. "Tasha. Is that you?"
"No, I'm not Tasha. Although, I can see myself having that name."
Data opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings. He wasn't on the Enterprise anymore. He was on the table in somebody's lab. Data tried to move, but his motion functions weren't processing to his neural net.
"Don't try to move," the woman instructed. "I haven't recalibrated your movement functions yet."
Data took a better look at the woman. She was only a little girl! Her chestnut brown hair was tied in a pony tail and her eyes were covered in dark goggles.
"Where am I?" Data asked.
"You're in my laboratory." The girl answered. Questions began to fill Data's mind as more confusion settled in.
"Where is the Enterprise?" He asked. "What planet is this? Are my friends all right?"
"Easy with the interrogation questions, Dragnet." The girl said. "I'll tell you what you want to know."
"Dragnet? Accessing." Data's eyes begin to shift from left and right. "Ah. A popular television series from the mid-20th century about two police detectives Joe Friday and Bill Gannon. But why is it called Dragnet"?
"Never mind." The girl laughed. "Your ship is fine. It's in our Main Hangar. You're on Earth, early 21st century. That's why nothing looks technical."
"And my friends?"
"Your friends are fine. They're staying here."
"And here is…."
"The Xavier Institute of Higher Learning. You're in San Francisco, California."
Data smiled slightly. It was all starting to make sense now. But he still was puzzled about one more thing.
"Why is it that I cannot move?"
"The portal you and your ship went through overloaded your systems and caused you to go into shock." The girl explained. She started tinkering with Data's left leg.
"But my self-repairing program should have restored my functions in a matter of minutes."
"Your self-repairing program was damaged too. Think of it as an equivalent to a human stroke. It took me about 2 hours to repair it."
"How long was I offline for?"
"Not long. A little over 48 hours." The girl slapped herself on the head as if she forgot something. "Crap! Where are my manners? Here I am, fixing you up, assuring you that you're okay, and I haven't even introduced myself to you. I'm so sorry."
"No need to apologize." Data smiled. "You are engrossed in your work. I am Data but I assume you already knew that."
The girl took off her goggles and smiled at Data. "Midge Windrider." She introduced.
Stark Suites, Malibu California-Logan, Aidan, Stefan, Beverly, and Cyrus.
Cyrus Vale woke up and found himself in a white and black living room with pictures of old cowboys, men in tights and…half-naked women.
Man, what kind of portal did we jump through?
"Cyrus! You're awake!"
Cyrus sat up and saw Aidan Kantar rushing towards him, giving him a huge big hug.
"Yes Addy, I'm awake." Cyrus replied. "Mind giving me some breathing room?"
Aidan broke her embrace and frowned. "You've never been much on affection, have you?"
"I'm Romulan."
"Half-Romulan. If I recall, your father was human and you were born on Earth."
"I know that. Where are we?"
"We're in Malibu."
Cyrus looked at Aidan. "Malibu?"
"Malibu, California. Earth, early 21st Century."
"How did we end up here?!"
"The portal brought us here." Aidan replied. "Apparently, the girl we saw in the middle of it, actually existed. And she had the power to get us here."
"So she probably has the power to get us back." Cyrus reasoned.
"Not really. The girl is not powerful enough to do it."
"What you talking about, Aidan?"
"These people that took us in, are mutants and bang-babies." Aidan explained.
"I'm supposed to automatically know what that means?"
"It was sort of a genetic breakthrough that happened between the mid-20th to early 22nd centuries." Aidan explained. "Humans who had some type of advancement in their DNA were born with superhuman abilities but they didn't show it until their adolescent years."
"What about 'Bang-babies'?" Cyrus asked.
"Bang-babies are similar to that of mutants," Aidan replied. "However they weren't born with their abilities. A well-known geneticist named Dr. Peter Boatman created the formula for superhuman teenagers."
"I remember studying about that at the Academy," Cyrus said. "His experiments gone wrong when he tested on his niece. More than 300 teenagers were affected."
"Calling them bang-babies. They're the reason why Starfleet exists now."
"Should we tell them?"
"NO!" Aidan exclaimed. "We're already making a mistake by being here."
"Calm down, Kantar." Cyrus said. "I was just kidding." He got up from the couch and surveyed the area. "Malibu, huh? Where's everybody else?"
"Beverly and K'Jai went to get us something to eat," Aidan replied. "The rest of the crew is in San Francisco."
"San Francisco?"
"That's where Boatman Manor is."
"Oh. Was I badly injured?"
"You had a concussion."
"Was it bad?"
"You were singing in your sleep."
"Oh, dear God."
Aidan laughed. But her smile quickly faded. Cyrus noticed it and sat beside her. "What's the matter?"
"Data took the worst of it." She replied.
"How is he?" Cyrus asked, concerned.
"I don't know," Aidan said. "He was lying there, not moving. I usually know what to do but…" She buried her head on Cyrus' shoulder and cried.
"Hey, hey. It's okay." Cyrus soothed. "Data's a tough guy. He's gotten through a lot of tough situations than this."
"But what if he doesn't make it?" Aidan asked, tearfully.
Cyrus lifted Aidan's head up so she could look at him. "Don't worry," He smiled. "He will."
"Hello, guys!" Beverly Crusher-Picard chimed.
The two young Starfleet officers turned to see the former Chief Medical Officer of the USS Enterprise-E waltz in the room.
"I forgot how…disgusting 21st century food used to be." Beverly remarked. "It's good to see you up and about, Lt. Vale."
"Thank you, Dr. Crusher." Cyrus thanked. "Where's K'Jai?"
"She went back to the Manor. Said it would be 'illogical' to leave the Captain unattended."
Aidan laughed. Cyrus rolled his eyes. "What's that in your hand?" Cyrus asked, pointing to some McDonald's bags.
"Your lunch." Beverly replied. "For Aidan, we have a 'Snack Wrap Combo' with a Diet Coke,' and for Cyrus, A 'Big Mac Combo, no cheese, with Ice Tea." She handed the two bags to Aidan and Cyrus.
"This is what humans eat in this century?" Cyrus asked, disgusted.
Aidan gave him a look.
"I know, I know. I'm half-human. But we don't eat crap like this."
"Get used to it, Cyrus." Beverly said. "We might be stuck in this time period for a while."
"What did you get?" Aidan inquired.
"A salad and a Diet Coke."
"Why didn't you bring us what you had?" Cyrus asked.
Beverly looked at him. "Just be grateful your opinionated brain didn't suffer any permanent damage."
"WHAT UP, MY 24TH CENTURY DUDES?!"
Aidan, Beverly and Cyrus turned around to see Stefan Wyngarde burst through the door, announcing himself. Logan Howlett (Wolverine) was trailing not far behind him.
"Hello." Aidan said, nervously.
"Don't be shy," Stefan said. "We're all friends here!"
"Speak for yourself." Logan muttered.
Stefan glared at Logan.
"I don't think we've formally met," Beverly introduced. "I'm Dr. Beverly Crusher-Picard. This is Counselor Aidan Kantar and Lieutenant Cyrus Vale."
"Stefan Wyngarde," Stefan introduced. "No formal title included. I'm a teacher at the Xavier Institute and a telepath."
"Telepath?" Aidan repeated.
"Yes," Stefan answered. "I'm a mutant, I was born with the ability." He came over to Aidan. "You, my dear, induce pheromones and emotions."
"Y-yes, that's t-true." Aidan stuttered.
"And very strong pheromones if I might add." Stefan smiled as he kissed Aidan's hand.
Aidan giggled. "Quite the charmer, Mr. Wyngarde."
"I aim to please."
"Okay, back off, Casanova!" Cyrus exclaimed. "I don't know what you do in this century, but in ours, we don't flirt with other men's girlfriends!"
"Ease up, Napoleon Dynamite." Stefan assured. "I know Aidan's your girlfriend. (Why, I don't know) I was just making polite conversation. Besides, I'm a happily married man."
"Then why flirt with other women?" Beverly asked.
"Don't blame Wyngarde." Logan imputed. "He gets his charming personality from his father."
"And you are?"
"Logan."
"Logan…"
"Just Logan, Red."
"The name is Beverly."
"Okay, I'm gonna break this up before someone cuts somebody." Stefan interrupted. He looked at Logan. "Literally."
"What do you mean by that?" Cyrus asked.
"That's a long story for another time." Stefan said. He then smiled his "Don Juan" smile. "How are you enjoying the 21st century?"
"Very…different." Aidan replied.
"No one hasn't killed us, yet." Beverly added.
"It sucks!" Cyrus said.
"Dude, you're distant relative to Scott Summers or something?" Logan asked.
"Who?"
"Never mind. Are you always this tight-ass?"
Cyrus was taken aback. "I am not a tight-ass!" He looked at Aidan. "Am I?" Aidan just looked at her feet.
"Logan, don't call our guests by any inappropriate names." Stefan instructed. To Beverly, he said: "Forgive my friend, he's lived a troubled life. So how about taking a tour of our beloved state of California?"
Beverly started to say something but Aidan cut her off.
"What about Data?" She said. "Is he okay?"
"Who?" Stefan asked.
"The captain of our ship."
"Oh. Who was that again?"
"Data!!" Aidan snapped. "Man, I thought you were a telepath?"
"I am. I was just messing with your head." Stefan laughed.
Aidan gave him a threatening look. "Sorry."
"Ain't he that "Stevie Wonder" dude?" Logan whispered to Stefan.
"No, that's Geordi La Forge." Stefan explained. "Data's the android."
"Mr. Roboto?"
"He's not a robot!" Beverly exclaimed, coming to Logan, furiously.
"Ya better ease up off me, woman!"
"Calm down children." Stefan told Logan and Beverly.
"I'm not leaving here until I find out about my friend's status!" Aidan declared.
"If it'll make you feel better," Stefan offered. "I'll phone Midge at the Institute."
Aidan looked from Stefan to Cyrus then nodded. "All right."
Lara Worthington's Room- Lara and Wade.
"Lara! Lara!"
Lara Nairobi Worthington was startled out of her sleep by the sound of her name. She looked and saw her boyfriend, Wade Wilson, smiling at her from the window.
"Wade!" She exclaimed. "What the heck are you doing here?!"
"I need to talk to you." Wade replied. "Can I come in?"
Sighing, Lara got up from her bed and opened the window. Wade climbed in Lara's room. He caught sight of Lara's pajamas and smirked.
"Well, Hello Kitty!" He whistled.
"Shut up, stupid!" Lara scolded.
"Don't be embarrassed, Brat. We all wear cartoon pajamas. I have Batman PJ's at my house."
"Did you come here to make fun of my pajamas or did you really want something?"
Wade sat down on Lara's couch. "I need your help."
Lara sighed and sat beside him. "What did you do, now?"
"I think I fluked up one of my jobs."
"WADE!!" Lara exclaimed. "I thought you gave up being a mercenary!"
"No, I said I gave up being a 'bad guy,'" Wade explained. "Being a Mercenary is how I make my money."
Lara frowned at him.
"I gotta make my hustle!"
"What job did you mess up?" Lara resigned.
"Someone hired me to whack Don Alonzo Mereoni."
"Is he related to Tony Mereoni?"
Wade nodded. "He's Tony's father," He explained. "Tamarra's great-grandfather."
Lara whistled. "Now he's ruthless. More so than Tino Mereoni. You were hired to kill him?"
"Yep."
"And you bailed?!"
"I never got the chance!"
"Why? He left the country?"
"Nope, worse."
Wade pulled out the obituary section from a newspaper and handed it to Lara. Lara looked at the section, then at Wade. He pointed to the main article. "Read it and weep, sweetheart." He declared.
Lara didn't have to read the article. Her eyes grew wide when she read the headline:
"MAFIA CRIMEBOSS, ALONZO MEREONI, DIES OF CARDIAC ARREST AT 87."
"He died?" She asked.
"Of a freaking heart attack!" Wade shouted, standing up. "I was supposed to take him out yesterday. But no! The Grim Reaper took care of that for me!"
"It's not your fault, Wade." Lara comforted. "The guy was old. You couldn't have seen this coming. I mean, nobody could."
"This was my money, Lara. My client paid me…really well to get rid of this guy. But he died before I could get that chance."
"Maybe you could call your client and tell him the truth. I'm sure he'll understand."
Wade gave Lara a look.
"Or not?"
"Do you have any idea how many people wanted Alonzo Mereoni dead?"
"I can figure out an estimate."
"More than half of the people in this Manor!"
Lara watched helplessly as Wade paced back and forth, ranting.
"What am I gonna do?! My client expects a report by tomorrow. How am I supposed to tell him that I couldn't kill Mereoni because he died of natural causes?"
Lara shrugged. "Just tell him that he died of natural causes."
Wade looked at her.
"That's what I would do!"
Wade paced around the room for ten minutes. (To Lara, it seemed longer) Then, to Lara's startled surprise, Wade stopped pacing and started laughing.
"I got it!" He cheered. "I figured it out!"
"The solution to your problem?"
"No, who really killed JFK. Yes, the solution to my problem!"
"Ok. What ya got?"
"Kill him again."
Lara looked at Wade as if the last three words didn't come out of his mouth. Then she realized who she was dealing with and her shock went away, replaced quickly by "angry girlfriend."
"Seriously? Seriously? Are you out of your mind?!"
Wade started to answer, but Lara cut him off.
"Don't answer that," She said. "It's you. You're always out of your mind."
"Then why'd you ask the question?"
Lara ignored him and continued ranting. "Mereoni is already dead! Why do you want to complicate matters by putting a bullet hole through his chest?"
"It's not like he's going to feel anything!" Wade reasoned. "The guy croaked. But I need to convince my client that it was me who pulled the trigger."
"What does this have to do with me?"
"Well, I want to kill him…Godfather Style."
"Godfather Style?"
"You never watched The Godfather?"
"No. I've seen The Sopranos."
"Good Enough. Anyway, you know how those Mafia people kill their prisoners. Take them to a dark alley and shoot them repeatedly."
"So we're going to a dark alley and shoot Alonzo Mereoni's dead body repeatedly?"
Wade sat down again. "You can bring your Mod Squad friends if you'd like. We don't have to be selfish."
"I don't know, Wade." Lara said, hesitant. "Don't you think someone will notice? And besides, the body's probably in the morgue right now."
"Don't one of your friends work at the Morgue?"
Lara thought for a moment and realized that her best friend, Victor Borkowski, (Anole) did work there as the mortician.
"Yeah. Vic works there." She confirmed. "But I don't think he'll agree to your psycho plan."
"Won't hurt to ask. Please, Lari?"
Lara fell silent for a moment. She didn't want to suffer any repercussions in killing a dead Mafia Boss. Especially from the Mereoni Mafia. But she didn't want Wade to be in any danger either. She finally gave in a resigned sigh.
"All right." She said. "I'll help you."
Wade leaped up from his seat, gave a yelling cheer and hugged Lara.
"You are the best girlfriend a Merc could ask for!" He proclaimed. "Have I told you lately that I love you?"
"Yes, Rod Stewart." Lara teased. "All the time."
Wade laughed as he kissed Lara. "We could get Sydney's help." He imputed. "And Maurizio."
"Who?"
"You know. Your best friend, the one from Canada. Family's Italian and has a British accent."
Lara sighed. Wade always get Dmitri's name wrong.
"His name is Dmitri Marx." She corrected. "And his family's German, not Italian."
"Oh." Then Wade smiled and headed for the door. "Well, let's go ask them."
"You don't even know if Victor, Sydney and Dmitri will say yes."
"Wouldn't hurt to ask."
Lara sighed as she watched Wade leave her room. Her mother told her that she was going to be living with the damages dating someone like Wade. They weren't major damages but they were enough to make Lara take Tylenol every single day.
"Wouldn't hurt to ask." She mumbled to herself. And she followed Wade out of her room.
Midge's Lab- Midge, Data, Deanna, Wesley, K'Jai, and Justin
"Try moving your hand."
Data slowly lifted his left hand, which he did with little effort.
"Good." Midge Windrider commented. "You're able to move the left side of your body. Let's see if I can work on your right."
Midge went over to the computer and typed in a few codes. Data watched her as she modified a certain drill to her calibrations.
"How does a young girl like yourself know so much about cybernetics?" Data asked.
Midge smiled. "I'm not that young. I'm only eighteen. But let's just say that it runs in my family. My dad was known as 'Mr. Fix-It' around here."
"I would very much like to meet him."
"He's dead."
"Oh. I am very sorry."
"Don't worry about it." Midge took off the top of Data's head. "This will only take a few seconds. It won't hurt a bit."
"I am incapable of physical pain, Midge."
Midge smirked. "Doctor's humor."
Midge proceeded to fix a few wires in Data's neural net. She then inserted a small microchip.
"I'm inserting an upgrade to your self-repairing program." She told him. "It'll protect you from any other unknown shocks in your system. Like a portal controlled by one of my friends."
Data smiled. "Do you believe your chip will work in my century?"
"I've recalibrated all the software for it to be compatible with your software. So it should be fine."
Midge put the finishing touches on installing the chip and put Data's head back in its place. "All right. You can stand up."
Data tried to stand up now. This time, he had a more easier time than the last 27 attempts. Data moved his arms and then his fingers. He then started walking. Midge witnessed this in comedic amusement.
"Well?" She said. "What do you think?"
Data looked at Midge, with a somewhat surprised look on his face.
"All of my systems are functioning. I can walk."
"Well, that's a really good thing."
Data came over to Midge, engulfing her in one huge big hug. Midge was briefly startled by the sudden gratitude but she immediately returned the embrace. For an android, he's pretty charming. She thought.
"Thank you." Data said.
"You're welcome." Midge replied.
Their moment was briefly interrupted by the sound of footsteps entering the lab. Midge looked and saw Justin Michael Sharp aka Canvas, enter the room.
"I'm sorry," He said. "Did I interrupt a tender moment?"
"What do you want, Justin?" Midge asked, annoyed.
"One of the people from the starship wants to see Dahta."
"Dayta."
"Well, all the same if you ask me. Anyway, she asked about him."
"Which one?"
"The one with the fine ass!"
"Justin!" Midge scolded. "Stop being so perverted. What's her name?"
"Oh. Deanna somebody."
"Deanna Riker?" Data clarified.
"Yeah, her."
"Okay. Send her in." Midge permitted.
Justin nodded and left to retrieve Deanna. Midge just looked back at him and shook her head. Data just looked bewildered.
"Intriguing." He said.
"What is?" Midge asked.
"Your friend seems to find the gluteus maximus an attractive part of Deanna's body."
"That's because he's a guy." Midge laughed. "Guys are obsessed with three things: Boobs, Butts, and Football."
"Is that type of thinking common with men in this century?"
"That's common thinking of all men in any century. Weather you're human, alien, or an android."
Justin came back to the lab followed closely by Counselor Deanna Riker, Lt. Commander Wesley Crusher, and Ensign K'Jai.
"As you can see Deanna," Midge declared. "Your Captain and friend is in good health."
Deanna said nothing for a while. Then she rushed towards Data, nearly knocking Midge over, and gave him a big embrace.
"I seriously thought we were going to lose you." Deanna cried.
"It is alright, Deanna." Data smiled and kissed her cheek. "I am fine. Midge took good care of me."
Deanna broke her embrace and came over to Midge. "Thank you." She said, giving Midge the same embrace as she gave Data.
"It was nothing, really." Midge said.
"Yes, it was." Wesley imputed. "You saved our friend's life."
Midge looked at K'Jai who nodded her approval.
"Well, I'm glad to help but the attention is not necessary." To Data, she instructed: "The upgrade to your self-repairing program is still relatively new. I suggest you wait at least 24 hours to give your neural system time to adjust to the program."
"What does that mean?" Deanna asked.
"Meaning Data has to rest for another day."
"Or in his case," Justin added. "Power down."
"That is the most illogical and insulting remark I've ever heard." K'Jai said, highly offended.
Justin looked at K'Jai as if there was something wrong with her.
"What are you, a vampire?" He asked.
"No, I am a Vulcan." K'Jai replied.
"Huh. Could've fooled me."
"Justin!" Midge hissed. "Shut up!"
"She started it!" Justin argued. He turned to K'Jai. "Are you even a girl?!"
K'Jai started to retort when Midge's screen phone beeped.
INCOMING CALL! STARK SUITES!
"Answer call." Midge commanded.
The viewer turned on and Stefan Wyngarde and Aidan Kantar appeared on the screen. In the background, were Logan Howlett, Beverly Crusher-Picard and Cyrus Vale in the kitchen playing poker.
"Wyngarde!" Midge greeted. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call?"
Hey Midge! Stefan greeted. Normally, I wouldn't bother you but Aidan wanted to see if Data was okay.
"I am fine, Addy." Data replied, coming towards the screen. "You have nothing to worry about."
Aidan sighed in relief when she saw Data come into the view screen. Thank the Callisto Moons! Aidan praised. I thought you were lost forever!
"Nope, I got him back." Midge said. "Up and running in the next 24 hours."
Wyngarde! Logan called out. Are ya gonna play or what?
In a minute! To Midge, he said: That was all I called you for. I gotta whoop Wolvie's butt in poker.
"You do that, Steve." Midge laughed. "See ya later."
Stefan gave Midge a bow. Goodbye, Goodbye. Parting is such sweet sorrow…
Can it, Shakespeare and get back to the freaking game! Logan shouted.
Stefan made a face at the viewer screen, making Deanna and Midge laugh.
When the view screen cut off, Midge turned to her guests.
"So," She said. "You guys want to have some fun?"
"Fun is irrelevant." K'Jai replied. "We must fine a solution to get back to our timeline."
By now Justin had enough of K'Jai.
"Are you sure she's not the android?!" He asked. "Look, K'Jai, Juniper, Lady Gaga, whatever your name is. Our friend, Rachel, is tired. Right now, you have no way back to the 30th century."
"24th Century." Wesley corrected.
"Whatever." Justin continued his ranting on K'Jai. "Anyway, the most 'relevant' and 'logical' thing to do right now is wait. Think you can do that?"
K'Jai looked at Justin as if she wanted to snap his neck right then and there. But instead, she walked towards him and gave him the eye.
"Do not insult my intelligence." She said.
"I wasn't." Justin told her. "I was just saying that you need to have some fun while you're here. Don't your planet have fun?"
"No, not really."
"See! Now would be a perfect opportunity!"
Before K'Jai could react, Justin grabbed her by the hand and lead her out of the mansion.
"Come on." He said. "We're going to Disneyland."
"Disneyland?" K'Jai asked.
"A popular amusement park constructed in the early 20th century." Data explained. "It was named after Walt Disney. He also created characters like Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse…."
"Data." Deanna stopped him. "That's good enough information."
"Let's let K'Jai see for herself." Midge added.
"Why?" K'Jai asked. "It already sounds disturbing."
"It'll be fun," Justin assured. "And trust me, you need it."
K'Jai braced herself for the worse as Justin led her out of the lab. Midge, Data, Deanna and Wesley looked at each other and burst out laughing.
"This is going to be on hell of an adventure." Wesley remarked.
Stark Suites-Cyrus, Aidan, Logan, Beverly, and Stefan
"Dealer raises $300."
"$500."
Logan looked at Beverly as if she were crazy.
"You sure you wanna make that bet, Red?"
"What's the matter, Teddy Bear?" Beverly challenged. "You scared?"
Stefan snickered at the comment but stopped when he saw Logan's face. "Ahem…uh." He said. "$200."
"I fold." Aidan said.
"Me too." Cyrus added.
"You're sure they play poker in the 24th century?" Logan asked.
"One of our favorite pastimes." Beverly smiled.
Logan grunted, took a puff from his cigar, and revealed another card from the deck which was a Jack of Spades. Stefan sighed and threw his cards down.
"I'm out." He said.
"Well, Ms. Crusher-Piccard," Logan smiled. "Looks like it's down to you and me." He pushed all of his chips in the middle. "And I'm all in."
Beverly looked at Logan smugly. "It's Ms. Crusher-Picard." She corrected. "And I'm all in too. But just to make it interesting, let's say we raise the stakes."
Logan leaned in his chair. "What'cha got in mind?"
"Uh oh." Stefan muttered.
"If I win, you buy me dinner."
"That's it?" Logan said.
"Beverly, come on." Aidan told her. "You can do better than that."
"Oh! Oh! I know!" Stefan chimed in. "My sister-in-law, Sophie Worthington, is holding an annual ball. "She's asked Logan to sing but he graciously declined."
Beverly looked intrigued. "Do you have good voice?"
"Not really." Logan muttered.
"One of the best." Stefan said.
"You're pushing your luck, Wyngarde."
Stefan just shrugged.
"All right. If I win Logan, you sing at the ball; any song of my choosing," Beverly said. "In a dress."
Cyrus nearly spit out his drink while Aidan and Stefan laughed.
"And you're still buying me and my husband dinner." Beverly added quickly.
Logan fell silent for a moment. Then he looked at Cyrus and Aidan.
"Does the good Doctor have any talents?" He asked.
"Not really." Aidan lied.
"She dances." Cyrus said.
"Cyrus!" Aidan scolded.
"I'm sorry, Addy. But I wanna see how this plays out." Cyrus looked at Beverly apologetically. "Sorry, Doc."
Beverly just shook her head and turned to Logan. "I'm a Tap and Jazz Dancer."
"Pretty interesting." Logan nodded. "If I win this hand, not only will you buy me and my wife dinner but you will dance at the ball to whatever song I choose. Ya ever danced in a tutu?"
"Please. I'll dance butt naked if I have too."
"Don't tempt me. Do you accept the terms?"
"Your on." Beverly smiled. "Let's see them, Wolverine."
"Ladies first."
"Please, I insist."
Logan looked at his hand and smiled. There was no way this woman could beat him, no matter what century she was from. Aidan looked worried, Stefan looked nervous while Cyrus was enjoying every minute of it. Logan revealed his hand: Two Jacks, and Ace, King, and a 7. All of them were spades.
"Straight in Spades, baby." He declared.
"Wow." Beverly exclaimed, seemingly shocked. "You're good, Logan, real good." She looked at her hand and smiled. "But, you're just not good enough."
Logan's smile quickly faded.
Beverly revealed her hand. "In your esteemed honor, A Royal Flush."
Cyrus cheered. Aidan looked at Beverly in shock and surprised awe. Stefan laughed and came over to Logan.
"Guess you better go get your high heels from the closet." He joked.
"Shut up, Wyngarde!" Logan hissed.
But he smiled to himself. Beverly wasn't so bad after all. He kinda liked her style.
L.A. Mortuary; Los Angeles, CA- Dmitri, Lara, Victor, Sydney, and Wade
"I can't believe we're doing this! We shouldn't be doing this! Kristy Jo will have our heads on a silver platter!"
"Dmitri, if you were against this in the first place, why'd you even bother to show up?"
Dmitri Marx (Steel) looked at his best friend, Lara Worthington (Celestial), as if there were something missing in her head. He loved Lara dearly, like his little sister. But sometimes, she couldn't think straight to save her life. Nor could her idiot boyfriend, Wade Wilson (Deadpool).
"Somebody needs to look after you." He replied.
"I can take care of myself, thank you." Lara told him.
"You and Deadpool performing one of his half-baked schemes?" Dmitri laughed. "If that's not a recipe for disaster, I don't know what is."
"You're not giving Wade that much credit."
"This is Deadpool we're talking about! I know he's your boyfriend and all. Not that I have anything against your relationship, but name one particular time when any of his plans have been 100% successful?"
Lara fell silent.
"Can't think of one, can't you?"
"What's your point, Marx?"
"Do you have any idea of the consequences this will bring out?"
"Of course," Lara answered. "If I hadn't, don't you think I wouldn't have given this a second thought and not asked for your help?"
"Then why go through with it?"
Lara shrugged. "Simple, because I love him. Sure, Wade can be immature and annoying at times but he's always been there for me when I was in trouble. I mean, what if this was Carly? Would you come to her rescue?"
"In a heartbeat, Lara." Dmitri answered. "You know that."
"I'd do the same for Wade."
Dmitri smiled and pulled Lara into an embrace.
"You are one crazy girl, Lara Worthington."
"So you keep reminding me, Dmitri Marx."
"Aww. It's a Kodak Moment!"
Dmitri and Lara broke their embrace and saw Wade smiling at them. With him, was Sydney Juanita Elizabeth Da Costa (Sun Goddess) who was also smiling at them.
"And why haven't you two dated yet?" She asked.
"Shut up, Da Costa!" Lara scolded.
"Just asking."
Dmitri came over to Wade with a serious look on his face.
"You said you were going to be here thirty minutes ago." He said. "What took you so long?"
"Relax, Darwin!" Wade told him.
"Dmitri." Lara corrected.
"Whatever. Anyway, I had to get the gun."
"Aren't we going to use one of yours?" Lara asked.
"Nope. This gun has real good firepower. Besides, I've been wanting to use this baby for a long time."
Wade pulled out a long, black shiny gun with two gun holes.
"Is that a bloody AK-47?" Dmitri asked.
"No. I don't use those crap sticks." Wade replied. "This is a T9-67 Double Revolver. Shoots twice as better as a Tommy Gun and as stealth as a Silencer. It's legal in 15 countries; United States not being one of them."
Lara looked at Wade in disbelief. "You smuggled an illegal weapon here?!"
"You make it sound like that's the worse thing I've ever did." Wade said casually.
"I better hope you know what you're doing."
"I do."
"Do you?"
"Maybe."
* * *
Victor Borkowski(Anole) was working on some last minute case files when he heard a knock on the door. Victor looked at the door then he looked at his clock. It was a little after 10:00 P.M. Lara told him that she was going to be coming over around 10:15.
Victor came to the door and knocked on it twice.
"I know what's up for me," Victor sang.
"If you steal my sunshine." Lara sang back.
Victor opened the door and Lara, Dmitri, Sydney and Wade stepped in.
"Hurry up," Victor warned them. "The cameras might be watching."
"Did you just sing a 90's song?" Wade asked.
"Yeah." Victor answered. "So?"
"Just wanted to know. Where's the body?"
"Right here." Victor got his key to open one of the drawers that kept the dead bodies and proceeded to open the farthest from his left. Wade saw Sydney standing in a corner and came over to her.
"Don't like dead bodies?" He asked.
"Not really." Sydney replied. "Especially old people's dead bodies."
"The man's dead." Wade assured. "I'm sure his face is going to look calm and serene. For a Mafia Boss, anyway."
"AHHH!!!"
Wade and Sydney heard Lara scream and rushed to see what happened. When they got there, they both shared Lara's reaction. They saw the late Alonzo Mereoni. But his look was not that of a serious crime boss. He was happy. A little too happy.
"That does not look calm and serene!" Sydney exclaimed.
"He took the expression 'He died a happy man' a little too literally." Dmitri remarked.
"You're telling me," Wade agreed. He turned to Victor and added: "Was Mereoni sniffing laughing gas when he died?"
"No," Victor replied. "His face was made like that."
"By whom?" Lara asked.
"Me."
Everyone looked at Victor liked he's completely lost it.
"Why would you change a dead person's face?!" Lara asked incredulously.
"When he was first brought to me, he looked all kinds of depressed." Victor explained. "I wanted to…brighten him up a little bit."
"You do realize who this is?" Dmitri reminded him.
"Duh, Dmitri! I'm not slow. I thought he should be buried a happy man."
"Oh, he's happy alright." Wade muttered.
"We're going to 'kill him,' Victor." Sydney said. "How are we going to do that if the man's looking like he just came out of a Richard Simmons video?"
"He looks fine, Syd," Victor argued.
"He looks like The Freaking Joker!"
"Guys, arguing is getting us nowhere." Lara reasoned. "Mereoni is already dead. We're just going to shoot him some more. So let's put his facial expression aside." She looked at Mereoni's face and grimaced. "No matter how disturbing it may look and let's get this done."
"I agree with Lara." Wade exclaimed.
"Of course, you would." Dmitri muttered.
"Do you know where any dark alleys, Victor?" Lara asked.
"There's one about two blocks from here." Victor replied.
"All right," Wade announced. "Let's get to the nitty-gritty!"
* * *
The ride to the alley was less than ten minutes but to Lara, it felt like hours. She hoped that this stupid plan would go through by some weird miracle. They made it to the dark alley and dragged Alonzo's dead, smiling body near the gutter. They stared at the body for a couple of minutes; in silence. Victor finally broke it.
"What do we do now?" He said.
"We shoot him and leave." Wade said, simply. To Dmitri, he said: "Dartmouth, go get the gun."
"It's Dmitri."
He went to the trunk of the car, got the Double Revolver and gave it to Wade. Wade looked at the gun for a second, then he looked at Dmitri.
"Why don't you take the first shot?" Wade offered.
Dmitri blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious?"
"Are you scared?"
Dmitri looked from Lara to Wade.
"Give me the gun."
Wade gave Dmitri the gun and Dmitri loaded and aimed it at Alonzo Mereoni.
Alonzo smiled his mega-watt smile.
Dmitri put his finger on the trigger and tried to fire it.
His head was saying "Pull the bloody trigger," but his body had another agenda.
"Dmitri, are you all right?" Lara asked.
"Yes, Lara. I'm fine." Dmitri replied.
"Are you sure?"
"YES!"
Dmitri tried to shoot Alonzo again but he couldn't stop staring at his face. Finally, Dmitri gave up and put down the gun.
"Bloody Hell," He said. "I can't do it."
"What?!" Wade exclaimed. "Why not?"
"Look at his face! I can't shoot him grinning at me like that."
"Man, you're a punk."
"Then why don't you shoot him?!"
"No, I'll shoot him." Lara said. "It shouldn't be that hard. He's already dead."
She grabbed the gun from Dmitri and aimed it at Mereoni. Lara felt her left hand shake and she steadied it with her right hand. She felt Alonzo's Cheshire Cat Grin stare at her like a bad movie. Lara closed her eyes to avoid it but the grin was already burned in with her eyes. Finally, Lara put down the gun.
"I can't." She said. "I can't do it."
Wade groaned in frustration. "God, I can't believe it! You too?!"
"It's his smile, Wade!" Lara explained. "It follows you like a pair of eyes. If I shoot him, he's gonna haunt my dreams or something."
"You two go against Magneto, Quintessence, Eclipse, and other villains I can't even count. But you can't shoot a dead guy?!" Wade took the gun from Lara. "Give me the freaking gun! I'll do it!"
Wade aimed the gun at Alonzo Mereoni, his finger on the trigger. But he didn't pull it. He loaded it again. And again. And again.
"Any minute now, Wilson." Dmitri said.
"Can it, Darby!" Wade hissed. "I'm gonna shoot the man. I'm just waiting on the right moment."
"Sure you are." Lara smirked.
Wade glared at Lara and continued to aim the gun at Alonzo. He stayed in this position for five minutes until he finally groaned his frustration.
"Can't even put a bullet hole in his head!" He said. "He smiling at me like he got knocked up or something."
"Who's the punk now?" Dmitri teased.
"Look, this plan is not ruined," Wade insisted. "We still got two more people. Victor, you do it."
He handed the gun to Victor but Victor refused it.
"I can't do it!"
"Don't tell me you're punkin' out too?" Wade sighed.
"You're the one who put that smile on his face!" Lara added.
"I know that." Victor agreed. "And I would blow this guy's brains out in a heartbeat."
"Then what's the problem?" Wade asked.
Victor showed everyone his right shoulder. "I dislocated my shoulder two weeks ago. Jonas, Armando and I went surfing."
"Enough said." Wade said. He handed the gun to Sydney. "Sydney, you do it."
Sydney looked at the gun, then at Alonzo's body, then at her friends.
"I don't want to do this." She squeaked.
Everybody groaned.
"Sydney," Lara reasoned. "The man is already dead."
"I know that but it doesn't make it right. Why can't we just let him rest in peace? He looks like it already."
"Because if we don't do it," Wade said. "I won't rest in peace."
"Then tell your client that you poisoned him and he died laughing." Sydney said. "This is disturbing. I can't do this."
She threw the gun on the ground and it went off. Everybody jumped on their feet when the gun went off. But everybody screamed when they saw what happened after that affect.
Dmitri's eyes grew wide.
Lara put her hand on her mouth.
Wade's mouth gaped.
Sydney and Victor exchanged shocked looks.
Either way, they were all shocked to silence.
After twenty long minutes, Sydney broke it.
"What did I just do?" She said.
"You blew his head off." Victor replied bluntly.
Dmitri looked at him. "Thanks for putting it so delicately."
"Now, what do we do?" Lara asked Wade.
"We walk away," Wade replied. "And don't tell a soul."
And with that, the five rebels walked out of the dark alley in silence, leaving the headless body of Alonzo Mereoni behind.
NEXT CHAPTER: MORE MIDGE/DATA ROMANCE
SETH STRIKES BACK!!!
FOR ALL YOU IMAZADI FANS.....RIKER/TROI FLUFF!
JUSTIN AND THE GANG TAKES K'JAI GOES TO DISNEYLAND
AN ENEMY OF THE ENTERPRISE RETURNS....AND YOU WON'T BELIEVE WHO IT IS!!!!