21. New Recruit

Bolivia – Three Weeks Later:

It had been raining for the past five hours with no end in sight. Dirt trails flooded and miniature waterfalls fell from large green leaves as thunder rumbled overhead. Everything was soaked thoroughly with no real place to escape the precipitation. Rainforest animals scurried under whatever they could find for shelter be it a rock, the canopy of a tree, or a building in the middle of a cleared out spot in the jungle.

The outside of said building didn't seem like anything special, just a rectangular structure with a covered porch and three outdoor tables for anyone looking to eat outside, when it wasn't raining that is. The dark brown wood it was constructed of was frayed and warped in several places with over half of the structure in the need for restaining to protect it from the outside elements. Mud covered the two stairs leading to its higher elevation from the ground as a station wagon and two pickups sat out front.

Within the building, the smell of slow cooking food filled the room as several men occupied four of the ten or so tables including booths. Some smoked; others drank, while only two ate what was brought to them. Only one man in particular wasn't eating, smoking, or drinking, but instead was taking up a booth in the back with his leg on the seat. His clothes were slightly damp from getting caught in the rain with his black hair drying in the warm environment. Where it was once plastered down to his head, it now took on a spiked effect from the man running his hands through it. From where he sat, he could keep his eyes on everyone in the so-called diner. Dressed in a black leather jacket, a pair of jeans, boots, and a shirt with four simple words on the chest, he had already found who he was looking for and wanted to get her in a more private atmosphere.

The attractive woman he had his sights on was tall with an athletic build to her. Her body was well toned with the skin of her stomach just hinting at her abs underneath. She dressed similar to the other women in Brazil with the exception for her arms being covered up by a material stretching from just under her shoulder to her wrists on both arms. Her kaki colored capris hung dangerously low and her tank top was tied slightly under her breasts. The mound of dirty blonde hair resting on her head was gathered in long dreadlocks and hung midway down her back.

After the last person left, around an hour later, she began cleaning up what they left behind and carried their plates to the sink hanging on the back wall. She then checked and stirred a large pot of food before turning her attention to the lone man in the back of the diner.

"Hey, handsome," the young woman said as she wiped her hands with a dishcloth. "You ordering something or just sitting there?"

The man looked up at her from his spot. "Just sitting."

"Well this isn't an all you can sit diner. You wanna stay, you order something. If not then be out of here by the time I get back." Taking her leave, the woman headed through a set of double doors with the man being left alone to his own devices.

Now in the back of the diner, which is also her house, she walked past the small bed and entered the bathroom. After several minutes, she headed back into her bedroom and was surprised when she sees the man from the diner standing before her across the darkened room.

"If you think I offer anything else besides food and drink, you're grossly mistaken" She says with warning in her voice

"Ah ain't here for that." He said evenly as he crossed his arms.

"Good, cause the only one who gets what I got is my girlfriend. And she don't like men too much either."

The man raised an eyebrow at her words. Even though he didn't speak a word of Portuguese, he could pretty much put two and two together. "Listen, Ah'm here looking for someone. She's from around here and can do…things."

"A hooker?"

"A what?"

"A hooker. You won't find one here but maybe in the next villiage or city."

Shaking his head, the man pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ah'm not looking for some tramp, Ah'm looking for a woman around here who can make a type of energy out of her arms, or however the villagers say it."

"Oh really?" she said with a hint of curiosity. "And what would this woman look like."

"Don't know. All Ah was told was to not get her upset or she'll kill meh."

A grin crossed her features. "So you don't know what she looks like?"

"No."

"Are you with them?"

"With who?"

Taking a step forward, the woman moved her hands behind her back. "The men looking for people with gifts."

"That's what Ah'm here for." Watching the woman closely, the man kept his muscles tensed should she try anything. "Mah name is Miguel Cortez. And Ah'm here looking for this woman to-"

"To take her and kill her like all the others!"

A flash of light lit up the darkened room as the woman brought her arms out. Both were surrounded with a red electrical energy that formed into barbed whips at least five feet long from her hands. The humming electrical current fizzled out of her arms just above the elbows with a white pulse traveling down to the tip of each whip each couple of seconds.

"Now you listen and you listen good," she told him. "I've ran into your kind before and I will kill each one of you that shows up here. Tell your superiors they will not take any more mutants from the village and to rot in hell."

"What men?" Miguel asked as he took a defensive stance.

"The ones in the purple armor. They've spilt enough blood of innocent mutants and I will not allow anymore to be shed!"

"That's not what Ah'm-"

Before Miguel could say anything more, the woman brought up one of her arms and swung one of her glowing whips at him. He ducked as the red current of energy sailed over his head and struck the wall, leaving a charred mark in the wood. Not giving him time to get his bearings back or attempt to counter attack her, the woman charged and tackled Miguel. The two crashed through the window behind him, sending glass everywhere as they fell to the muddy ground outside.

Bringing up one of her whips, she attempted to slice Miguel's head off but was flipped over his head and landed in a rather deep mud puddle. She recovered quickly and attacked him with several kicks, low leg sweeps and hook-like punches with her whips coming extremely close to wrapping around him. There wasn't a time she wasn't moving as Miguel was forced to take the defensive. What made things worse was her being a woman and he not wanting to hit her.

"Damn," Miguel cursed in Spanish. "Will you stop for just a minute?"

"So you can have an easier time trying to kill me? F#$k you!"

The woman continued to attack with no sign of letting up as the rain continued to pour buckets on them. Her whips sent up steam from the water as they began to turn white with each passing moment. Having enough of the way she continued to fight, Miguel waited for one of her whips to come at him from overhead when he formed his blue claws and caught it. A spark ignited between the two mutant's active powers upon contact, turning the touch points purple. The spark was enough to temporarily blind them both and force them apart.

"What was that?" the woman yelled as she cleared her eyes.

"Ah was trying to tell you, Ah'm a mutant!" Miguel yelled back.

"Liar! It's a trick!" She once again formed her whips and attacked. This time she abandoned her dance-like fighting and swung them around in an attempt to tie the male mutant up. "I will not be killed by some mutant hunting army!"

"Ah'm not with them! Ah didn't know they were down here to begin with!" He could feel his anger rise as well as see his blue claws darken in color. This woman was sending him over the edge. He had to end this fight as soon as possible.

The moment the woman took another overhead swipe at him, Miguel grabbed her whip and turned his face to prevent him from going blind by the initial spark. He then spin around and planted a hand on her shoulder to flip over and behind her. Once his feet touched the muddy ground, he pulled as hard as he could on the whip and forced her to punch herself in the face. Landing with a forceful thud, the woman's whips dissipated and Miguel was instantly on her, straddling her torso with his claws extended under her chin.

"Now listen to meh!" he yelled at her. "Ah'm not with those soldiers! They hunt mutants, Ah'm a mutant. Ah'm not here to kill you!"

"Right, like I'm supposed to believe that!"

"Shut up!" With a shake of his head, Miguel cleared some of the rain water cascading down his face. "Those soldiers you're talking about are called Executioners. They want to kill us. Ah'm with a group called the X-Men. Ah was sent down here by a bald telepath named Xavier to help you."

"And what makes you think I need any help?" She spit up some of the rain water that had found its way in her mouth as she spoke.

He dissipated his claws and leaned down on a fisted hand. "Because, our powers are alike. They can kill us if we're not careful. Mine almost did."

"That sounds like a personal
problem to me."

"Yeah, it is. It's yours."

The two stared each other down. Reaching for one of her arm coverings, Miguel pulled it down and saw numerous faded markings. A few were fresh and resembled bloody welts. "Your powers did that when those whips of yours turned white, didn't they?"

"No, they're f#$ked up for no reason at all."

"Yeah, Ah bet." Climbing off her, he roughly brought her to her feet. "Ah'm only gonna say this one more time, if you want to live, come with meh. Ah'm picking up two others like you and heading back to New York."

"Like I said, nothing doing. I can control this on my own, I don't need help."

"Suit yourself. Ah just want to get out of this damn country."

Leaving her covered in mud and in the rain, Miguel stomped off into the jungle were he left his bike. The woman watched him as he disappeared down the dirt road then entered the thick foliage of the rainforest.

"Crazy Mexican idiot." She fixed her arm covering, making sure the markings on her bicep were covered completely before turning back to face her house/diner where she came face to barrel with a shotgun.

"Justine Maloi," a purple armored soldier said. Although his voice was muffled behind his helmet, she could hear her name clearly. "I think it's time you come with us."

The woman known as Justine narrowed her eyes as six other armored soldiers came into view, each with rifles or shotguns raised.

Within the jungle, Miguel trudged through the thick mud on the way to his hidden motorcycle, muttering to himself in Spanish as he wiped the mud from his jacket. His boots were caked with the dirt and water mixture as were his pants and shirt.

"F#$king crazy woman! She wants to kill herself, go ahead! Last thing I need is some damn lesbian coming with me around the world and having to keep an eye on her." He turned around to face the way he came from and flipped her the bird. "F#$%K YOU!"

That was when he heard the gunshot and froze where he stood. Rolling his eyes, he looked back to where his bike was then back towards the diner when another shot rang out followed by a round of rapid fire shots.

"S#$t, why did Pix have to give meh a f#$king conscience with that damn speech?" Throwing his jacket back on, he hurried back to the diner.

Being forced to take cover and avoid the ones attacking her was not Justine's style. She would much rather be involved in a straight up fight instead of playing a deadly game of hide and seek. Buckshot and hollow point bullets flew past her as she ducked behind a remaining pickup. Its tires were all flattened with its lights having been shot out and pieces of metal missing from its body. Glass littered the ground around the female mutant and sank into the mud as she scrambled to try and get back in her diner.

Catching a glimpse of one of the soldier's legs, she formed her whips and snagged his. His lower extremities were wrapped tightly, causing a pulsating pain to travel up his body. He was then drug off his feet as another whip sliced through his chest area, leaving no mark as it left him comatose. A second soldier came into view but was completely wrapped up with his arms pinned to his sides. The red whip changed color from red to white as Justine pulled back, making the energy lash travel through him, and leaving him dead in the mud with a blue ghost-like apparition disappearing in the air above him.

She was ready to attempt to go back in the diner when a boot caught her in the ribs. The Brazilian let out a grunt as she rolled out of her hiding place and the five remaining soldiers surrounded her. Three reloaded while a third kept his shotgun trained on her and the fourth pulled out a knife with a blade around a foot long as he advanced on her.

The moment he raised his weapon, Miguel charged him and delivered an uppercut to the soldier's back with his claws with the one next to him receiving a knockout kick to the side of the head. The other three opened fire on him, providing Justine the opportunity to form her whips and wrap two of them up again. They became white and phased through the two soldiers who let out yells as they fell to the ground, dead. A blue aura left their bodies much like the first and faded into nothing. As for the last armored man, he was met with a clawed hand in the gut before he had a chance to retreat.

"So, you're really not with these guys." Justine said as her whips faded out.

Running a hand through his soaking hair, Miguel turned to face her. "Told you."

"Name's Justine Maloi. People here call me Lash." She wiped her face clear of some of the rain. "Say I join you, can your boss bring a stop to these pieces of s#$t?"

"Don't know what that means, but that's what he's looking to do. Ah just gotta make two more stops before Ah go back."

"Where at?"

"Egypt and China. Got two more like us Ah need to get."

Nodding, Justine looked back at her diner/house. "Give me a day to pack and talk to my girlfriend. I'm tired of these pricks enough as it is. Got an extra room by the way, you're more than welcome to spend the night for the help."

"Appreciate it."

"Just, if you hear anything, it's just me and Sarah in the other room."

Miguel stared at Justine who gave him a playful wink when his phone rang. A check of its display showed it was Megan calling him. "Speaking of which, that would be mine."

As the two headed inside the diner to get out of the rain, Justine took a closer look at his shirt and just had to pose a question. "So, do you always arrive, raise hell, and leave?"

"Most of the time."