"Without control there is uneasiness, but it also allows for the opportunity of creativity and growth."
[xxxxx]
Chapter 4: Without Control
Elizabeth watched carefully as her younger sister spat out harsh and venomous words to their leader. The two had been at it for almost an hour. The conversation was going nowhere. Elizabeth only watched on out of boredom now.
"Control left me in charge of the Superiors." Camouflage repeated for the hundredth time, her Amazon-like physique towering over Albino's shorter, skinnier physique. "That means you take orders from me."
Isabelle, or Albino as she was more commonly referred to, was Elizabeth's sister, who shared the same feisty and determined attitude that ran in the family. She stood with her fists clenched, the muscles that hid beneath her pure white skin tensing. She snarled and her nostrils flared as if she a matador preparing to battle against a bull. "I don't take orders from a Class 2. As far as I'm concerned, I'm a free agent now."
"Alright." Elizabeth whispered, and took a step forward, planning to stop their pointless bickering, but she was stopped by someone. She spun around to face her husband, his brown eyes serious.
"Liz," He whispered as Camouflage and Albino continued to quarrel. "Leave them go. It's better if they resolve this themselves."
Elizabeth yanked her wrist out of her husband's grip. "Will, they're going to kill each other if someone doesn't stop them soon." She stepped forward, and again was stopped by her husband.
"Let go of me, Hawkeye." She growled, and he released her. She knew he hated it when she used his mutant name. She approached the two bickering females, but they didn't bother to notice her. Elizabeth took some time to let herself transition into Panther, the fiercer side of her personality. "Girls," She hissed as she approached the two, who only now realized her presence. "You're bickering is pointless. Our time would be put to better use if we used it to find our leader, rather than debate who will temporarily take her position." She said with a rather snappy, angry tone.
Camouflage and Albino stared at her for a moment, both with completely different expressions on their faces - Camouflage's was one of interest and consideration, and Albino's was arrogant disbelief and annoyance. The former opened her mouth to say something, but was quickly interrupted by the latter.
"I'm going for a walk. I need to take a break." The white-haired, red-eyed mutant announced angrily, pushing past Panther and headed for the cage elevator that lead down to the main floor. Both Camouflage and Panther watched her as she left, but neither said anything.
As Camouflage turned herself invisible and no doubt ran off to her room for some privacy, Panther sighed and turned back to where her husband was still standing - in the threshold between the kitchen and the living room.
"William..." She groaned, and fell into his arms. He led her into the kitchen, where he sat her down at the table. "What are we going to do?"
"About what, my dear?" He asked as he poured some steaming hot water from the tea pot into two mugs.
"About what? Control, of course!" She sighed and slumped down on the table as William brought over two cups of tea and sat down across from her.
"The woman or the noun?" He asked.
Elizabeth brought her head up and took a first sip of her tea. Too hot. "Both. We've already gone to all of the local prisons and those damned mutant holding facilities, and Control was at none of them. And to add to that, Camouflage is too worried about holding her position to even do anything about it, and I'm the only thing keeping Albino from killing her in her sleep!" She took another sip of her tea despite the temperature. "We're becoming a mess, Will."
"Oh, darling..." William sighed, and reached across the table to hold his wife's hand. "You don't need to worry. Wherever they're keeping Control, they can't hold her for long. She'll be back, and then all will return to normal."
Elizabeth nodded and squeezed his hand. "You're right, sweetie." She paused. "It's getting late. We should get some rest."
[xxxxx]
Albino shut the cage doors to the elevator angrily, but made sure not to catch her finger between the heavy iron. She turned her back to her sister and Camouflage, who she knew were watching her. She didn't want to feel their eyes on her. But that was soon over once she hit the button and the old warehouse elevator rocked its way down to the main floor.
Once she was down stairs, Albino left the elevator and wandered her way to the back of the warehouse. On the main floor, all of the doors and windows of the warehouse were barricaded for security and privacy reasons, and the only other way in and out of the building was known unto only the members of the Superiors.
Tucked away in one of the back rooms of the warehouse was a small room that used to function as an office of some sort. This room was left empty aside from a rather old and musty chair, a wooden desk that had gotten very rotten over the years, and few old newspapers scattered around on the floor. There was also a rug that was rather new compared to the other furniture in the room. Underneath this rug was a trap door that let down into the sewers.
Albino flung open the trap door and flipped on the flashlight that hung on her belt. Ignoring the ladder, she jumped down the "rabbit-hole", as she liked to call it.
As always, the sewer smelt horrible, but she had gotten used to it by now. It was a short walk to the next sewer cover, and Albino climbed out of it with ease. She brushed herself off and covered the manhole back up before starting on her walk.
It was late - almost midnight - but it was normal for Albino to take walks late at night. She always liked to roam the streets of the Mutant District, where the streets were almost abandoned during the night.
"Hey, there beautiful."
Almost.
She spun around to face a tall man about her age. He was handsome, and obviously a mutant. His hair was a striking white color, one that rivaled the pure color of hers. He smiled at her and his blue eyes twinkled in the streetlight that they both stood under.
"What do you want, buddy?" She asked in an annoyed tone and crossed her arms.
His smile grew. "Just a bit of your time is all."
Albino narrowed her eyes. "And tell me: what is it you've done to deserve it?"
The man let out a bit of a chuckle. "You are feisty, aren't you? I was warned you might be a bit of a struggle."
She bit her lip and she could feel her heart beat rise a bit. "Warned? Okay, buddy, you better start explaining yourself right now or -"
"Let's go for a walk, shall we?" He interrupted and took hold her arm, guiding her out of the streetlight and into the shadows of the street.
Albino yanked her arm out of his grasp. "Hold on there, hotshot. Who are you and who warned you about me?"
His smile wavered. "Let's just say I know people, alright? And I know way too much information about you for you not to cooperate with me."
Albino lifted an eyebrow and crossed her arms skeptically. "Oh, really? Just how much information are we talking about?"
The sighed, as if he was just about to give a speech. "You're name is Isabelle Amelia Barnes. You grew up on Mackinac Island where you're parents owned and operated a vacation home rental service. You have once sister, Elizabeth, and no other siblings. You've never been married but once graduating from Lincoln High you went on to study law at Michigan State University. But during you're senior year-"
"Stop." Albino said, and took a deep, shaky breath. She began to feel the back of her throat dry up. "Who are you?" She whispered to him in a weak, scared voice.
He stepped forward, and touched her arm lightly.
Immediately, she pushed him away. "Don't touch me!" She yelled, still shivering. "Just tell me who you are." She said, returning to her soft and afraid voice.
"There's no reason to be scared, Albino. My name is Quicksilver. I'm here to help." He said in a solid voice. She could tell he wasn't lying.
"I don't need help." She said sternly.
"The Superiors do."
"How do you know all of this?"
Quicksilver sighed. "It'll be easier if you just come with me."
Together they walked back to the Warehouse, and though Albino thought she was leading the way it seemed that Quicksilver knew exactly where he was going.
They stopped in the back alley of the Warehouse, right in front of the doors. Quicksilver leaned in as if to open them, but Albino stopped him.
"You can't get in that way." She told him softly. "All of the doors are barricaded."
He smirked at her, and there was that twinkle in his blue eyes again. "Wanna bet?" Before she could reply, he pushed the door open and held it for her. "Right this way."
She thought about saying something, but anything she could think of sounded stupid and naive, so she walked right past him into the Warehouse.
"You're gonna have to lead the way from here." Quicksilver said as the door swung closed behind him and echoed through the building.
"Follow me." Albino said, and set forward.
She led him into the old cage elevator and pressed the button to go up to the main living quarters. I shouldn't have brought him here, she thought to herself as the elevator jerked and soared upward. Camouflage is going to have a field day biting off my ear...
A/N: This chapter and the next were originally just one big chapter, but I decided to split them up just cuz I felt like it. The transition might be a bit rocky, but I at least tried to change it to make it a bit smoother.
Big thanks to martshi3, my new Beta. I hail to her! Anywho... check out her stuff. She's got a few cool X-Men stories.
About the title of this chapter - it's supposed to be sort of like a duel meaning with the Superiors (Controls team, if you didn't get that...) losing Control, they end up literally losing control. I just thought that I'd share my totally super cool thoughts... not...
Okay, I'm starting to get angry about people not reviewing... I feel alone and like a loser because I write all of these authors notes and nobody responds! Am I still just typing this right now for no reason? I wanna hear your opinions! T_T