First Mutant
By David D. Amaya
Chapter 1
"Horsepower calling Lizard. Over."
"Lizard responding on Oscar, Tango, five-niner. Over."
"Status on Rainbow Trail. Over."
"Rainbow Trail secure," said Lizard. "ETA for Stagecoach? Over."
"Lizard, ETA for Kaleidoscope, and company for Rainbow Trail 0900 hours. Stagecoach to depart Castle 0845 hours. Over"
"Roger Horsepower, status on Staircase. Over."
"Lizard, Bandbox reports fresh meat out of Baseball will report to Blowtorch for duty on Staircase. Over."
"Horsepower send the meat our condolences. Lizard Out."
"Will do, Lizard. Horsepower over and out."
******************************
Room 4, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., Washington, and D.C. 0800 EST. Day 1
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Getting up for back-to-school shopping with mom was never supposed to be fun for a 12-year-old.
Cyrus Parkman dreaded this trip more than usual this year.
He could still remember the time he got his sister Andi to spill formula on a shirt he hated.
But the trick had backfired, as the store clerk made his mother buy the tacky, and now sticky, button-down.
Cyrus was tempted to try again because he knew the clerk wouldn't even think to try to push his mother around this time.
"'Because I'm Ariel Parkman,'" Cyrus mimicked. "'And my husband is Anthony Harrison Parkman, the President of the United States!'"
Cyrus knew his mom loved to say that phrase, but sometimes he wished he wasn't the son of the President.
He remembered back to five years ago, when he was living in Seattle, in a modest home on the Puget Sound.
His dad was only a senator spending most of his time in DC, but at least Cyrus had his Uncle Jake and Oz and all his friends to hang out with.
Oh, how he missed the days of rollerblading around the Space Needle, the camping trips with his friend, Oz's dad near Mt. Rainier, watching the Mariners at the Field, taking the ferry to Bainbridge Island.
But those days were over the day two stupid James Bond wannabes told his dad that his friends were a 'security risk.'
"Why does my dad have to be so damn important!" he said to the four walls. "Why can't my dad be fine as a shoe salesman like Mark's or a lawyer like Billy's?"
Cyrus then opened the curtains on the window reviling an otherwise breathtaking view of the Washington Monument, from the same bedroom as other First Kids like Tad Lincoln and John F. Kennedy, Jr.
"Why do we have to live in a town that don't even have a good baseball team?"
Cyrus remembered the start of last season; his dad threw out the first pitch at RFK. The Mariners were in town to face the Orioles at Camden Yards and Cyrus was forced to wear a Nationals jacket! To make matters worse, his beloved M's ended the game with a walk off Grand Slam to win.
"I hate this town," Spat the First Kid. "Why do I gotta be here."
A knock came from the door interrupting his tirade on the nation's capital.
"And why do I have to be shadowed by the 'Men in Black.'"
Without waiting to be asked to, the door was opened by his 'executive babysitter,' Special Agent Woods.
"Hurry up and get dressed, Cyrus," Woods said. "You only have 28 minutes."
Of all the Double-O Zeros in the universe, why do I get the 'Human Stopwatch,' Cyrus thought to himself. "Okay, Okay, be right there," he finally said aloud.
After Woods left, Cyrus then decided to start this day with some fun.
"Ok, let's see what'll drive Woods loony toons this morning," He said as he examined his wardrobe.
***************************
Just outside the White House, 0805 EST
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Well Lariat, looks like I'll be seeing you on the news a bit more often," said the older man.
"I would doubt that," replied the man called Lariat. "You know that I am shy, Charlie."
Special Agent Charles Black laughed. Not any Agent could get away with calling him Charlie, but the Lariat wasn't just any other Secret Service agent.
"Seriously Kordel," Charlie continued. "This is a big step, haven risen through the ranks like you did is such a short time span. You earned your shot at the Crown. You deserve it."
"No," countered Special Agent Kordel Nichols, "You more than helped along the way. Remember those counterfeiters out of Victoria. I would be dead right now if it were not for you. I should not have received this post alone, especially after my run in with Crane."
"Maybe you're right Lariat," said Charlie. "But many other agents would have given their front teeth to pull what you did to Crane, besides I'm getting too old for running alongside limousines, after all, jumping on top of letter bombs is a game for the young."
Charlie opened the door and the two agents entered the White House.
For Agent Block it was almost old hat, haven served under every President since the Kennedy Administration with three separate tours in Executive Protection, but for Agent Nichols, Washington DC was totally new to him as he never been posted to a Government installation in the nation's capital before, let alone the President's home!
"I'd love to give you the Grand Tour, Lariat," Agent Block said, "But they have someone who does that during the week anyway."
Leading Agent Nichols to a secluded room that is not on the public tour, the two agents found themselves at the desk of Ron Ziegler, the agent in charge of the White House Detail.
"You have an impressive jacket here Nichols," Ziegler read Agent Nichols service record. "Been with the agency since you were 16 in the Stay-In-School Program as a clerk in the Boston field office. Three administrative promotions. You was even editor of the office Newsletter by your second year.
"Graduated mid-term from high school, straight to Boston University. Graduated magna cum laude with masters' in Journalism and Business Administration. Applied for inter-agency transfer to Treasury Enforcement the day you graduated.
"Aced your Treasury Enforcement Exam. You're still the only one to ever do that Nichols. Four years in the service in Deep Cover Ops and already six commendations for merit. And you want to chase after limos now is it?"
"No, sir," Agent Nichols replied. "I just want to serve my country, sir."
"Spare me the class cheer!" Agent Ziegler shouted. "I don't think you're deserving of this post. And frankly, if I were your agent in charge when you pulled that stunt with Senator Crane I'd have you reassigned to chasing hackers in Alaska!
"You're damn lucky you had Agent Block here kiss ass all over Capitol Hill for you to get this assignment, But I think I can find a way to punish you right here."
*******************************
Cyrus Parkman's room, the White House, 0815 EST
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Opening the doors to his room, Cyrus was hoping Wood's would wig on him, and what he had on would not disappoint.
He had on mismatched shoes and socks, his shirt had a mustard stain on it, his jacket had a rip in it, his tie had a moth hole, and his hair was a mess.
Man I look like a dork, Cyrus thought. But that look on Woodsie's mug made this all worth it!
"What are you doing!" shouted Woods. "Get back in there and but on something decent!"
"But I don't have a thing to put on, Woods."
Agent Woods stormed into Cyrus' room to find his wardrobe a mess.
All the shirts were wrinkled, the suits and pants were all mismatched, and all of his shoes were scoffed.
"What is going on here Agent Woods?" asked a female voice from the doorway.
Oh man! He thought. First Mom's about to have kittens!
"You look silly CJ," the little girl next to his mother giggled at big brother.
"Mrs. Parkman, I can explain," Woods began. "Cyrus here..."
"I'm just having a little trouble with my closet, mom," Cyrus interrupted.
"I do not want to hear it, and I do not have the time to listen," said The First Lady. "Cyrus, you will change this instant."
Then she turned her tirade over to Agent Woods. "I do not appreciate the way you are looking after my son, Agent Woods," she began. "But, I do not have the time to discuss it. See to it that Cyrus dresses in decent attire, we must depart within the hour."
"Of course, Mrs. Parkman."
"Come, Andromeda," She grasped her daughter's hand. "Cyrus must change."
"See you later CJ," Andromeda waved at her brother.
"Beat it Squirt," Cyrus called out.
As the First Lady and her assigned agents were out of earshot, Woods grabbed Cyrus by the arm and pulled him close.
"I know you have some clothes in here, FIND THEM!" He shoved Cyrus in to the closet.
Just as Woods left, Cyrus reached out the window and pulled in the suit he stashed just before he un-tidied up his closet.
Maybe school shopping will be fun this year after all, Cyrus thought to himself as he undressed. I mean, Woodsie seemed to enjoy it!
*******************************
The National Place, F Street Washington, DC 0830 EST
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"I cannot believe we got switched back to field duty, Charlie," Agent Nichols as he walked through the mall's entrance, after flashing his badge at the guard. "If he were there he would have done the exact same thing!"
"I know, Lariat," Agent Block. "All most anyone would. Heck, some of the other senators on the Hill would want you to get a medal for what you did."
"But none of them guards the President," said Kordel.
"I don't think they fear Knight as much as they do that old war-horse Crane." Charlie added. "Besides you're still young, you'll get your shot at Knight any time now."
"But we have to go through a shopping trip with Kaleidoscope, Kryptonite, and Kilowatt first," Agent Nichols shot back.
"Don't beat yourself up so, Lariat. Besides you went back-to-school shopping with Rosie, didn't you?"
"That reminds me, Charlie. Are you wearing your vest?" replied Kordel.
"That bad, huh?"
"And I did not have the press corps following us around then."
***********************
Just outside the White House, 0845 EST
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"Well Agent Woods, I see you finally have Cyrus looking presentable this morning." quipped The First Lady. "Now come along children into the limousine."
"Horsepower calling Lizard. Over."
"Lizard responding on Oscar, Tango two-five-niner. Over"
"Stagecoach departing Castle. Over. ETA to Rainbow Trail 15 minutes. Over"
"Roger that Horsepower. Stagecoach ETA in 15. How about Meat. Over."
"Meat now at Rainbow Trail. You can send your condolences personally. Horsepower out."
"Roger, Lizard over and out."
**************************************
Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, Westchester County, NY 0850 EST
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
All was relatively quite at the X-Mansion this morning.
Most of the X-Men having just finished eating breakfast, were preparing for a Danger Room workout session, but Jubilation Lee, who was still at the mansion to recuperate, opted to watch television before an intense private session with Jean Grey, who agreed to allow her to watch cartoons.
"Thanks 'Mom,' " she had told Jean.
It had been about seven months since she and Everett Thomas were brutally attacked in Boston at the hands of Sebastian Shaw and Tessa. She had regained full control of her motor skills and was re-learning the finer control of her mutant powers.
The time she spent with Generation-X was still a blur though, but thanks to Jean and Scott, who became her legal guardians, and the rest of the X-Men, more of her memories were coming back to her.
"Time for some quality television viewing," she said.
As she flipped the remote control, looking for Scooby-Doo, but instead of the animated Great Dane and his friends, many of the networks and even a few local stations had a live feed to a Washington shopping mall.
Reporters had mentioned that President Parkman's two children were going back-to-school shopping, while the President was in Europe for a NATO conference.
"Saving the world through shopping? Rad!" she quipped just as a large black limo pulled up to the front entrance.
"Horsepower calling Lizard. Over."
"Lizard responding on Oscar, Tango two-five-niner. Over."
"Stagecoach approaching Rainbow Trail. Repeat, Stagecoach approaching Rainbow Trail. Over."
"Roger Horsepower, Stagecoach approaching. Rainbow Trail now monitoring. Lizard out.
"10-4, Horsepower over and out."
******************************
Presidential limousine, Just outside The National Place 0859 EST
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"Why do we always have to come here, mom?" Cyrus asked the First Mom. "I hate the junk they have here."
"Because this is where America comes to do their shopping," said his mother.
"Do they have a Chubbies & Tubbies or places like at Northgate or Sea-Tac?"
"NO they do not," she remembers all too well the vintage grunge-wear Cyrus used to sport back in Seattle when her brother-in-lay Jacob would shop for his nephew's clothes. "We live in Washington now and we have to dress accordingly."
"We lived in Washington before and it was better than this one," Cyrus mumbled as the Presidential limousine stopped in front of the mall.
"Lizard calling. Stagecoach landing."
"Showtime, Lariat!"
"This is just a shopping trip, right Charlie?"
*****************************************
Recreation Room, Xavier Institute 0900 EST
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"Puh-leeze," said Jubilee to the TV screen. "Who cares if the Prez's kids need some Underoos, gezz?"
Surfing the tube, it seemed that every channel had the shopping exploits of the First Family.
"I mean when I go to the mall, you don't see all that hoopla."
"Can't understand why, chér," came a voice from behind the young pyrotechnic, playing with a deck of cards. " 'De loud yellow coat, wit' dat bright red, blue and green suit jus' a lil' too much for the six o'clock news, non?"
"Hey, Gumbo," Jubilee replied. "Don't you have a Danger Room session this morning?"
" 'Bout ta ask ya the same, Petite," Gambit asked the young mutant.
"Convinced 'Moms', to let me watch some 'toons, but everyone has this on," she said gesturing towards the onrush of reporters, crowding a mother and her two children on the satellite feed from DC.
"I'm bored, mom," Cyrus informed his mother while she conversed with an overly helpful clerk.
"I'm talking with this helpful young man, dear," First Mom replied.
"That's 'cause the double O-Zeros got the whole joint evac'd," he countered.
"CYRUS!? His mother exclaimed through clinched teeth. "Where is your grammar?"
"Tacoma," reciting the punch line of his favorite joke under his breath.
"That is not very funny young man," Andromeda added trying to mimic her mother's stern voice.
"That is enough, the both of you," the First Lady said. "Here Cyrus, go and try on this suit."
"Mom, I gots plenty suits," he replied. "Why can't I go to school in my retro threads?"
"CYRUS JAMES PARKMAN!" his mother called out through a Colgate smile for the press corps. "You will go in to the changing room and try on this suit."
"OK, mom." Or is that madam First Mom, he finished to himself, taking the double-breasted pinstripe suit (with traditional foulard tie no less,) into the dressing room.
(Two minutes later...)
"Mom, it doesn't fit."
"It should dear. It is your size, just like the rest," the First Lady answered.
"It don't fit, Ma," came the reply from the fitting room.
"Oh bother," Mrs. Parkman sighed. "Woods, would you go and assist Cyrus," she told more than ask the agent.
Woods for his part seemed to almost storm into the fitting room.
"Oh-oh," Andromeda said almost in a whisper, hoping her mother would not hear. "CJ's gonna get it now."
But Agent Nichols overheard the President's daughter.
"I shall be right back, Charlie," he informed his partner.
"Where you going, Lariat?"
"Let us just say I saw this before," Kordel replied as he followed Woods into the dressing room.
"Oh, geez!" said Jubilee over 200 miles away. "Like, the First Baby needs two wet nurses to help him put on his yuppie diapers."
"Jubilee!" admonished Scott who walked into the room behind her.
"What are you DOING, Cyrus?" Agent Woods demanded.
Cyrus was sitting in the last changing stall, playing a hand-held video game, his suit still on its hanger.
"It doesn't fit," Cyrus replied, not even taking his eyes off the small screen. "The arms are too short."
"How do you know if you don't try it on first?"
"I just know. I got one of them ... what-da-ya-call-em ... prime-a-notions."
Woods slapped the video game out of his hand, grabbed Cyrus' arm and leaned close.
"You will put on that damn suit right NOW!" Agent Woods grunted while Cyrus looked at him in fear.
"What the hell is going on here," cane a voice from behind them.
Turning around, Woods found a man in a three-piece suit like the one he had on wearing dark sunglasses.
"Who the hell are you?" Woods asked.
"Special Agent Kordel Nichols," he said, flashing his Secret Service badge. "Now leave him alone and walk out."
"Nichols, huh. I heard of you. I was just helping Cyrus out. Right Cyrus?"
Cyrus just looked at him dumbstruck.
"I said 'Right Cyrus.'"
Agent Nichols suddenly grabbed Woods by the throat and slammed him against a wall. Taking off his sunglasses with his free hand he glared Woods dead in the eye.
"I saw and heard the entire exchange," He he squeezed on Woods' neck. "Now you have two choices; A. You can go and tell Mrs. Parkman that this suit is undersized. Or B. I drag you out of here and explain to the First Lady just WHY you died of asphyxiation," as his grip became noticeably tighter.
"Lariat, what's going on in there?" Both agents heard through their earpieces.
"Nothing Agent Block," Nichols spoke into the Comm unit in his wrist. "Cyrus just needs a fuller cut on the sleeves. Right, Agent Woods?" He squeezed a little tighter, then released the chokehold on his neck.
Woods looked at him with daggers flaring in his eyes, but Kordel looked back with a stair of pure ice.
"Yea," Woods replied into his own mic. "I was just going to get a bigger size now." Then he left the room with the suit.
Cyrus just looked at him in awe. No other agent ever talked to each other like that while in the White House. It was also the first time someone put Woods in his place.
The agent picked up the hand-held device off the floor and reached into the breast pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small flask.
"Here Mr. Parkman, this will help calm you down."
Cyrus just looked at the metal container. "Is that ..."
"OF COURSE NOT! It is Avian. I do not drink on duty."
Cyrus took the flask, unscrewed the top and took a swig. Sure enough it was bottled water.
"Are you injured, Mr. Parkman?" the agent asked him.
"Ya, Woodsie is a jerk," he replied taking another swig .
"Well, it takes one to spot one," the agent remarked. "Now when he returns, please try it on this time, Mr. Parkman."
"'Mr. Parkman' is my pops, Secret Squirrel, call me Cyrus."
"My name is not 'Secret Squirrel', Cyrus, it's Agent Nichols, Kordel Nichols."
"Well, Nickels, I don't need a babysitter."
"Is that so?" asked Kordel. "Well, what you do need is to grow up and get through this trip with your mother and sister, without another hassle." Then he turned to walk out of the room caring the PSP with him.
"Hey! That's mine!" he exclaimed.
"You can have it back when you are better behaved," Kordel shot back. "Besides you could do without Tetris warping your mind."
"It wasn't Tetris it was Metal Gear," Cyrus said as he pounded at the light switch in frustration. The lights dimmed for just a second, but when the lights came back, on the switch seamed to glow bright red and started to hum loudly.
Agent Nichols heard the humming sound, looking at the glowing switch, he suddenly grabbed Cyrus by the wrist and threw hit to the floor and landed on top of him just a heartbeat before the light switch ...
... Exploded.
A muffled sound came in from one of the Comm units assigned to frequency Oscar, Tango two-five-niner.
"All agents report. What the Hell just happened."
"Horsepower, explosion at Rainbow Trail! Repeat, explosion at Rainbow Trail!"
The blast, small in size as it was, still was powerful enough to blow the changing stall to bits.
The rest of the fitting room, the shop, and the rest of the mall was thankfully still in one piece, just as Agents Woods, Block, Ziegler, Mrs. Parkman, her daughter and several other agents, news reporters and camera crews rushed into the room to find Cyrus on the ground with an agent on top of him.
Debris from the changing room's destroyed stall surrounding them as the news photographers were squeezing off film and video shots for, what will undoubtedly be, the lead story on the evening news.
"CYRUS! ARE YOU HURT?" His mother cried out.
"Yea, yea, mom. I'm fine," Cyrus replied, surpassingly calm. "Just get this Secret Squirrel off me!" He said trying to shove Agent Nichols off him.
"Lariat are you all okay?"
"I shall be fine, Charlie."
"What happened?" the shocked First Lady demanded.
Cyrus looked around at the room like a kid who was about to be grounded for his next eight lifetimes. "Well mom, I ..."
"A power surge," Agent Nichols interrupted the President's son. "The lights dimmed, then came back on, I heard a humming noise then I grabbed your son and moved him out of the way."
The press then bombarded him with questions.
"Agent, do you suspect a bomb?"
"Was this an act of sabotage, agent?"
"Agent, what is your name?"
"Get these people the hell out of here!" Agent Ziegler shouted. "This isn't the Press Room!" As other Secret Service agents tried to force the press corps out of the room.
"I don't know what would have happened." said the store's owner, who looked like he was expecting to be placed in front of a firing squad. "We had the electrical systems checked out last night!"
"We scoured this room, sir," One of the agents assigned on the advance team spoke up. "I examined the light fixtures personally only five minutes before Kaleidoscope arrived."
"So it was a surge?" Agent Block inquired.
"If it was a surge," he replied. "Then why wasn't the rest of the lighting in this room effected."
"And where were YOU when all of this happened, Agent Woods?" The First Lady asked her son's principal agent.
"Well..."
"Agent Woods was getting another coat for Cyrus, ma'am." Agent Nichols replied.
"Well then, if I have to deal with faulty wiring, we will be leaving," Mrs. Parkman announced. "Come along children, we are going home."
"Back to Seattle?!" Cyrus asked with hope in his eyes.
"No, the White House, Cyrus."
Cyrus just shrugged his shoulders at Agent Nichols trying to suppress the smirk forming on his lips.
"Well, ya can't blame a guy for trying!" As they left.
"You guys hear that?" Logan asked, who also joined in watching the First Family's televised shopping trip with the X-Men.
"Goddess," Ororo exclaimed. "That sounded something like, an explosion."
Just then all the heads on the television screen turned towards the changing room curtain, then three agents, the First Lady, her daughter, and several news crews rushed in.
What they found was a shot straight out of old Iraq War footage.
The President's son was on the ground with what appeared to be an agent on top of him, shielding him from the small blast, with pieces of the room all around them.
"CYRUS! ARE YOU HURT?" cried out The First Lady.
"Yea, yea, mom. I'm fine. Just get this Secret Squirrel off me!"
"WOW!" exclaimed Jubilee, "Just look at all that senseless damage! Reminds me of our last trip to Madjipoor!"
"What happened?" The shocked First Lady asked.
"Well mom," started her son. "I ..."
"A power surge ..." A Secret Service agent replied.
"That was not caused by a power surge," Scott announced with authority.
"What happened, Scott?" asked Jean who could feel the tension the group felt at witnessing the events on the news.
"The First Kid, was caught in a big blow out sale!" Jubilee chimed.
"Agent, do you suspect a bomb?"
"Was this an act of sabotage, agent?"
"Agent, what is your name?"
"If ya ask me," said Jubilee. "I'd swear that the Cajon blasted the joint."
"Ain't my style, petite, 'de Gambit, he use bit mo' panache, non?"
"Perhaps," Professor Xavier entered the room. "But, maybe you are on to something, Jubilee."
"What do you mean Professor?" asked Scott.
End of Chapter one
© David D. Amaya 2007