Chapter 33
At the Institute...
Down in the infirmary Hank was performing medicals on their 2 new students. Outside the room the Professor and Clark were updating the other members of staff on what had transpired the last few hours.
"That's Monet?" Domino asks sceptically, pointing in to the infirmary after being told who Penance actually is. "Arrogant, superior to all, pain in the ass M?"
"It's her," Superman assures Dom from his position leaning against the wall. "Sooraya doesn't lie."
"Poor lass," Banshee can't help but feel for her.
James remains stoically quiet leaned up against the wall. He has never met this Monet but this does indeed sound like a terrible thing that has happened to her.
"It's just monstrous," Storm expresses her view, deeply angry. Sure Monet was, as Dom said, a pain in the ass but no-one deserves that.
"No. It's Selene," Superman corrects. "And Monet's brother. Claire and Marie have some fun stories about him."
No-one could argue that. Claire and Marie had told...well one story. The story of the day Monet was recruited into the Hellions. Marius sounded...to be polite, like a very disturbed young man.
"Which just baffles me more why Amara would leave to join them," Martha says. "When we met Selene that 1st time...she was shaking, terrified out of her mind. Why would she go anywhere near the Hellfire Club for as long as Selene is around?" she asks at a total loss to explain the Nova Roman Princess' actions.
James' expression darkens. Amara's defection makes him...well angry. She has said her people see Naman...Clark as a God yet she has just done something that completely dishonours him. It's a disgrace...and if Amara were here James would tell her so to her face.
"We're missing something," Logan comes up with because it was the only explanation. There was something that had happened they didn't know about.
"So what are we doing about it?" Jonathan asks.
"Nothing," Clark answers. Everyone looks at him with a querying look. "What can we do? Drag her back against her will? We haven't done that to Rogue when we know for certain she's not thinking straight. Amara knows what we suspected, that all those so-called accidents were being set-up, yet she still chose to go. For good or ill we choose to act in a certain way governed by certain beliefs and morals and some days we just have to pay the price for that no matter how sucky it is."
"Clark speaks truly," Charles can't do anything but agree with the alien teen. "This last week hasn't been our finest hour," he confesses.
"We just need to take that on the chin and keep moving forward," Jonathan gives his advice. "Life isn't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard life can hit you, about how hard a hit you can take and keep going."
Logan likes that piece of philosophy. "Jon-boy's right," he agrees. "We just carry on as usual. Frosty played us and got a victory. If we let it beat us down it only becomes a greater victory for her."
"Besides with those 2 in there we're up 1," Dom argues that despite it all they're ahead after this.
"It's not a contest, Domino. We're not keeping score," Storm makes her view clear.
"And it's also th' damage t' our reputation," Banshee adds an extra to the minus column.
"Plus the 5 at the zoo could still face charges," Martha has to sadly add. She doesn't like being the downer.
"Lets call it a mixed day," Jonathan describes it as.
Just then Hank opens the door and steps out to face expectant looks. "I've finished my tests. If Charles will assist me we'll examine the findings. For now I will say both girls are in fine current health. As for Ms St Croix's condition...until Charles and I review everything I am unable to give an answer as to whether it's reversible. Considering the lateness of the hour I think we can postpone the tests on their abilities until the morning. Perhaps a quick tour of the facilities before they are shown their room will help them settle in," he suggests.
"I'll do it," Clark and his parents say together making everyone smile.
"You 3 can give the tour together," Charles proposes.
"I have one question," Dom raises. "When and who tells Frost about our 2 new recruits?"
"Oh don't worry. I took care of that," Clark says with a coy smile. He then walks past them to get Dust and Penance and as he goes he chuckles evilly making everyone wonder just what the hell he has done.
The Hellions Boarding House...
Emma strides in through the front door feeling elated. She needs more days like this.
Her good day doesn't last when she finds King Bedlam waiting for her in the lobby, his expression grim and his thoughts dire. "What is going on?" she demands to know.
"Dust and Penance are gone," King Bedlam answers.
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Emma wants clarification.
"They're not in their rooms and neither is any of their stuff," he explains and then holds out a plain envelope, plain apart from some scribbled words. "This was on the dresser," he continues. "I haven't read it since it's addressed to you and for your eyes only," Kind Bedlam surmises what those words say.
Emma's snowy blond eyebrows drop as she frowns. She takes the envelope in hand. The handwriting looks...familiar but she can't quite place it. She rips it open and takes the letter inside out. She unfolds it and starts to read.
Hi Em, darling!
It's your old friend Kal again! If you're reading this then you've found that a couple of your precious students are missing.
Here's a hint. They've defected.
Ok so that's just telling ya but if you'll recall in my last note I did say it was only a matter of time before I talked your entire student body around and that it would be much more fun if I spent the next several months doing that to prolong the suffering.
And you know what. It is fun!
And you know what else? You have nobody to blame but yourself. It should have been as clear as your cheap boob job that Sooraya is a sensitive wee soul and what you were doing violated both her conscious and deep faith. If you truly loved and understood your students you would have seen this coming.
Oh, also, I know the truth about Monet. Shame on you Emma. How could you fail that badly in protecting one of your students. I'm curious what lies you've been spinning her parents.
Actually no I'm not because your tangles of lies will implode around you one day and I'll be there to watch it all fall apart.
What can I say? I'm cruel like that.
Ooh wait, I used that line last time. Have to be careful. Don't want to end up boring and predictable like you.
So I'm certain you'll be adding this to the list of reason you need to get revenge on me. Like I said last time I'm looking forward to laughing and pointing in your face at your abject failure to achieve that.
Till then I'll say congrats on luring Amara over and not to sound childish but 4-1! 4-1! 4-1!
That's 4 to me and 1 to you.
See you soon, your pal,
Kal.
PS: Cue the blood-curdling scream of frustration and rage.
On cue that very scream escapes from Emma's lip and echoes all around the house.
At the Institute...
Back at the mansion, as he is helping his parents give Dust and Penance the tour, Clark hears Emma's screams and smirks. "Some days I just kill myself," he laughs in his own amusement, completely baffling the 4 other people with him what he means by that.
"Honey?" Martha asks.
Clark waves her off. "It's nothing. Just a little joke for myself," he says.
Martha doesn't buy that or like the evasiveness. It was happening too often now. She's not certain what to do about it. They've tried talking to him but the more they push the more he seems to clam up and the more he seems to put a distance between them.
For Dust, herself, she is finding this a rewarding experience because she feels she did right. For the 1st time in weeks, maybe months, there is no guilt and doubt gnawing at her soul that she has chosen incorrectly nor that she is aiding people whose actions contradict her personal beliefs. There is the issue of her missing mother that weighs heavily on Sooraya's shoulders. She had mentioned this when explaining everything to Professor Xavier and he promised to do all he could to find her mother.
But more importantly to Sooraya than any of her own selfish wants is that just from what she has seen so far she feels more like something is trying to be done to aid Monet. She never got that feeling from Ms Frost. Speaking of Monet...of Penance she was walking beside the group quite happily it seemed. Intrigued by all the new sights and sounds. Sooraya truly did wonder what went through the girl's mind and how much of Monet was really left in there.
The group head up through the mansion to show Dust the room she will stay in with Penance since the red-skinned mutant was most comfortable with the Afghan mutant.
"Drake!" a sudden familiar screech can be heard as Bobby runs by, laughing manically. Shortly after Claire appears, her hair literally frozen solid and herself wrapped in a towel. "You immature little twat! I'm going to..."
Claire slides to a stop at seeing her family and Dust and Penance. "Uh...hi mom!" she says in a high squeaky tone.
"Claire," Martha says in an amused tone.
"Bobby froze the shower again I take it," Jonathan says.
Claire snorts furiously. "Not only is it annoying it's not even original any more! I swear I'm going to..." Claire starts to mumbles all her promised revenges at this point.
Clark's eyebrows rise as he hears it. "I don't think that's anatomically possible," he remarks about one of her threats.
Claire glares at him. "I'd make it possible," she vows. She blows out a breath. She was just getting the grime off after today's fight when Bobby did this.
"You're ignoring our two guests, Claire," Clark points out to his sister. "That's rude," he tells her off waggling a disapproving finger in her face.
"Take the finger out of my face before I fucking rip it off and shove it where the sun don't shine, boyo" Claire tells him.
Martha pinches the bridge of her nose. One of these days she'll get Claire to stop swearing. It's on her list.
"Hello Sooraya," Claire finally gets around to greeting her former teammate. "I apologise for my state of undress but that immature wanker otherwise known as Robert Drake likes to play pranks on people."
"I understand and there is no need to apologise," Sooraya assures the fiery redhead.
"It's...good to see you here," Claire says truthfully. Her one regret at leaving the Hellions was leaving Dust behind. Sooraya didn't belong with that lot. "We'll catch up," she promises. "I just need to go defrost and dry myself first," she says and then turns and heads back to the bathroom.
"Yeah...and I'm sure warm up Marie too," Clark says suggestively.
Claire freezes mid-stride.
"She must be getting awful lonely in that shower without you," Clark teases before snorting with laughter at what he imagines is Claire's beetroot red face by now. He could pick up Marie's scent on his sister is how he figured this out.
Jonathan shakes his head and makes a noise of...well just a noise that indicates he didn't need to know that.
"Get dressed, Claire," Martha says. She's not angry. Not really. Claire and Marie are a couple and teenagers and sometimes they do things like that.
Claire hastily scurries back into the bathroom vowing revenge on her brother. She strips the towel from her body and relights her fire, thawing and warming herself back up.
"H-hey a little heat here please," Marie says from between chattering teeth as she desperately wraps herself up in a towel and tries to rub some heat back into her frozen body.
That is what made Claire so irate about Drake's prank. No-one hurts her girlfriend. She steps up to Marie and carefully, gently applies a warm heat to her girlfriend. Her warm hands slide under the towel, gently pushing it off and allowing it to fall to the ground as Claire transfers just the right amount of heat into the smooth, silky skin as Claire judges her girlfriend to possess.
Marie throws her head back and lets out a pleasured sounding sigh. "That's so good," she whispers, her voice husky and it's clear as day that she's getting turned on by what Claire is doing.
Claire gets evil thoughts and glides her hands over to Marie's most sensitive spots and soon elicits gasps and moans.
"Oh mon Dieu, s'il vous plaît ne vous arrêtez pas, c'est incroyable, je t'aime," Marie mutters, losing her ability to speak any sort of English.
Claire has been getting lessons in French because she wanted to be able to speak to her girlfriend in Marie's native language and she thinks that translates to 'Oh God, please don't stop, that's amazing, I love you'. She leans in and whispers, "C'est seulement l'échauffement. Maintenant c'est là que je reçois vous vraiment chaud."
That's only the warm up. Now is where I get you really hot. Well Claire hopes that is what she said or otherwise she just killed the mood.
Marie makes a sort of whimpering sound at this before crushing her lips against Claire, lost into the heat of lust and passion.
When the two finally finish their shower both are thoroughly warmed up.
Back down in the infirmary the initial analysis of Penance's test results isn't looking too hopeful in regards of reversing the transformation and restoring Monet to her true self.
At least not any time soon.
"As far I can see, Charles, Penance is what she has always been. If I hadn't been told she was Ms St Croix I would never have guessed," Hank says to his old friend.
Charles has to agree with everything Hank is saying. Though the simple study of Penance was astounding. Her skin is not only diamond hard and sharp but her body is incredibly dense, deduced from the simple act of weighing her. Your averagely strong person would physically be unable to lift her...assuming you could touch her without being cut to shreds. She's that heavy. It would also make her very strong and recalling her fight against the Mandroids in Smallville she was able to rip them apart with ease and was very agile considering her sheer mass. It's almost contradictory.
Also her mind is completely impenetrable...possibly(probably?) on purpose. If Marius meant this as a punishment for his sister he wouldn't want a telepath to be able to reach into her mind and see the truth of what happened. That comes from Dust's story. Marius never expected to be defeated by the Hellions. He must have had bad plans for them all, especially Monet. Luckily he never got a chance to implement them.
On a side-note of interest Penance's body can seemingly do a similar trick to Kurt's and blend into the shadows and into the darkness. It doesn't even need to wait to do the tests on her powers. It is something you can see as clear as day as she walks in and out of shadows.
"We'll have to wait for the full DNA analysis to finish," Hank says. And it wasn't easy getting a blood sample out of her. Had to use the adamantium implements and even then it was clearly uncomfortable for her. Oh, on another side note her blood is strangely closer to purple-pink than red in colour.
"Or we may just have to accept that if magic did this only magic can undo it," Charles proposes.
"Well I don't like to rule out a scientific solution just yet," Hank says.
Charles smiles. Hank doesn't like the concept of magic. It's too illogical for his scientific inclined mind. "I'm not," he assures Henry. "I just think we should open up all avenues to a solution."
Hank shrugs. "Whatever you think best, Charles," he says in a non-committed fashion. Personally he'll keep probing away using the good old fashioned scientific method.
Charles thinks a 1st step might be to ask Wanda what she knows about magical transformation and take it from there.
"I can't believe she did that," Tabby says in disbelief. She is up in her room lying on her bed in shock after hearing about Amara's defection to the Hellions. It was all around the mansion by now.
Wanda is sitting on her bed, reading a mystic tome Dr Strange assigned her as homework...of a sort. She peers up above the edge of the book. She's not brilliant at being comforting so she's not certain what to say but feels she should try being a good friend and say something. "Considering my own father threw me in an asylum there is little left to shock me, Tabby about how people behave so I don't think I can give you any sort of explanation."
Tabby brings a pillow round and hugs it to herself as she stares upward at the ceiling...of the room that is still all odd angles and weird shapes and far too large. Dr Strange still hadn't gotten around to fixing it...and Wanda simply didn't know how to.
"I don't mean to raise a sore point but didn't you leave once," Wanda reminds Tabby.
Tabby thinks back over her reasons for originally leaving. They seemed like good ones at the time but now, having had time to reflect, she can see she was stupid. On the other hand if she hadn't been with the Brotherhood she may never have met Wanda. Life's funny like that. "I just...she never said did she? Did she say she was this unhappy and I missed it?" Tabby wonders if this is a failure on her part.
Wanda's brow draws together. "I know she has had issues and hasn't seem very enthused with things lately but no, I don't think she outright came out and said she was so unhappy she wanted to leave," she relays what she can recall.
Tabby sighs. "If I could just talk to her," she laments. It's clear Amara's leaving has hurt her.
Wanda places a page marker in her book and closes it. "Would it do any good even if you could?" she wonders. "Amara's reasons might be ones you can't dissuade her of."
"In that case I would tie her down and torture her into submission."
Wands gives Tabby a look.
"Ok so I wouldn't," Tabby cracks. "Still wish I could talk to her and understand what this is about."
"I get that," Wanda says. "Though didn't she have some secret boyfriend or something she was seeing?"
"Yeah, she did," Tabby says with a frown because in fact that only deepens the mystery as to why Mara would leave.
Yeah it is a bit of a mystery. Wanda can see how it would bug Tabby. And if she's being truthful to herself she'll miss Amara too. She's never had room-mates before she considered friends...as long as you don't count the cockroaches and rats that use to keep her company in the place.
Just then there is a knock on the door and the Professor announces himself. He takes a moment to get over the strange sight of the interior of the room. The quicker Stephen fixes that the better. "Sorry to disturb you girls," he apologises if he was interrupting.
"Nah. It's alright, Prof. We were just talking about...stuff," Tabby says.
"In that case may I borrow Wanda for a few moments," he requests.
Wanda is slightly surprised by why he would want to see her. Her curiosity suitably intrigued she places her book down and hops off her bed. She follows the Professor out into the hallway.
"Fuck me!" Claire exclaims.
"Claire, sweetie, language," Marie gently chastises.
"Sorry," she mumbles.
The two were in Dust's and Penance's new room catching up with their former teammate of Sooraya and had just learned the truth of Penance. That she too was a former teammate.
Claire had reacted in her normal coarse way. She bends down at her knees to be at the same height as Penance who is sat on the floor of the room she and Dust had been given. "Monet? That really you in there?" she asks.
"I assure you it is," Sooraya answers for Penance.
Claire straightens up. "Gee now I feel bad for all those things I said behind Monet's back."
Marie gives her girlfriend a queer look. "No you don't," she argues.
"No, I don't," Claire agrees because she meant every single one of them. Monet was a stuck up cow...and that was one of the nicer things she said.
"Rrr?" Penance makes a sort of querying noise.
"Uh, can she understand us?" Claire asks. She probably should have thought of that before she said that stuff about Monet.
"I am not certain," Sooraya gives the honest answer. "I believe she could function by herself if not for her talons cutting everything. She certainly understands commands to a point."
"So does a dog," Claire points out, pouring scorn on that. She then smirks as a thought occurs. "Hey I guess it really is Monet considering how many times I called her a b-i-t-c-h," she jokes.
"Claire," Marie reprimands her. She loves Claire but sometimes she goes a little too far.
Claire shrugs. "Hey, I never made any secret of the fact I didn't like her," she reminds Marie. "You have to give me credit for not being as two-faced as the rest of them...not including you Sooraya," she tags on, showing she has no intention of apologising for being honest.
"Monet was not slow in saying she didn't like you either," Marie reminds Claire. In fact the two of them had had some beauties of a row when they were all together in the Hellions.
"Monet didn't like anyone. Not even her own sisters. Everyone was inferior to Princess friggin perfect!" Claire rants, showing that the animosity she had for Monet hasn't subsided.
"I am not sure there is much left of Monet to understand any of that," Sooraya finishes off answering Claire's original question. "She doesn't even recognise her own sisters."
"So why is she close to you?" Marie wonders.
"Again I can't be certain," Sooraya cautions putting too much value in the explanation she has come up with. "I think possibly because it was I that managed to get her away from her brother when we were battling him and saving her."
"She might have imprinted on you as someone who wouldn't harm her," Marie speculates.
"I love it when you sound all smart," Claire remarks with a heated gaze.
"Plus tard," Marie says. Later.
A pleasant shiver goes up Claire's spine. She'll never get enough of that accent.
Sooraya can't argue. Marie could well be correct. There was some time differential involved and crossing dimensions. Monet could have been under her brother's 'care' for awhile before they managed to save her and who knows what horrid things he did to her. He fed off of her certainly. That being the case, as far as Monet changed into Penance might be concerned, Sooraya was the 1st person who ever showed her kindness. Sooraya can see how that would explain, at least partially, Penance's attachment to her.
"It really is good to see you again, Sooraya," Marie says, not having said it before. "I was feeling bad we left you with the Hellions when Claire and I quit."
"There is no need to. I don't judge. You did what you felt was right at the time. We all must do as Allah moves us to," Sooraya says.
"I'll never get how you can be so forgiving," Claire confesses. "You're worse than my brother."
"My ears are burning!" Clark jokes as he walks in to 'introduce' himself. Up to now Sooraya's only met Superman today. He pushes his thick rimmed glasses up his nose with his thumb in his trademark habit.
Penance perks up at seeing him. "Rrr!" she makes a happy sounding sound. She then leaps at him suddenly.
"Penance! No!" Sooraya shouts, trying to stop her, thinking Clark will be severely harmed by Penance sharp skin, not realising he is in fact invulnerable.
"Oof," Clark fakes it a little as Penance wraps him in a bear hug, something she has missed greatly. Human contact which is why she couldn't help herself because, perhaps due to the way her mind was rewired by her transformation, she knew Clark was the same as Superman and that she couldn't hurt him. To her she doesn't see the same distinction, difference and disassociation between Clark's 2 selves everyone else does.
Clark hugs her back not quite realising the consequence of doing so while Penance rests her head on his shoulder.
"Y-you're not hurt?" Sooraya inquiries at seeing this. "That's not possible. The only other person she has never been able to harm is Superman."
"Shit," Claire swears under her breath as she realises what this means.
Clark sighs. "Well this has to be a new record," he mutters to himself at having his identity blown. "Penance...need some space please," he requests of her.
Penance makes a soft noise of protest as if she doesn't want to release her hold but she lets go and resumes her more normal crouched position.
Clark raises his hand and pulls his glasses off, revealing clearly his cerulean blue eyes. "This is going to take some explaining," he tries and prepares Sooraya.
Sooraya blinks. How in the name of Allah didn't she see that before?
"Or we could just wipe her mind," Claire proposes.
"No," Clark refuses on this occasion. "It's fine...well not fine but it's happened. Lets just all sit down and let Sooraya hear it."
Sooraya sits herself down on the edge of her bed. She doesn't understand this at all.
Claire and Marie sit themselves down on a couple of chairs while Clark remains standing. "At this rate everyone's going to know before the summer's out you know," he grumbles to Claire. He means SHIELD knows he an alien...well know Superman is and then there's today with Thor and Andrea worked it out for herself. Where does it end?
Claire shrugs. "Deal with it."
"You just don't do sympathetic do you," Clark complains at his sister.
"No," Marie snorts in humour at the idea.
Claire frowns at her girlfriend.
Clark shakes his head and turns back his attention to the immediate issue and the Afghan girl sitting, waiting patiently for him to speak. "Ok Sooraya it goes like this. See I'm not from around here..."
Author's Note: Clark having fun at Emma's expense is almost very Kal-like but you know they are the same person. Clark just doesn't let that side of him out enough. Even though I showed little of it I doubt Claire and Monet ever got on so despite what has happened I don't think Claire could stop herself making fun of Monet. Yes, this must be a new record for Clark blowing his secret identity. Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews. Next up; No Good Deed part 8 as extra help is called in to try and help Penance.