CHAPTER 1:
"LYLA!" Brain was turned off. Emotions other than anger were void. Rage fueled her forward, ready to take off the head of the Red Rook. "Lyla! Come on, please." She didn't hear a word Stahr shouted. "Please, stop it!" she softened her voice, pleading with her to put herself back together.
Back to reality, Lyla sat on the sidewalk before the Red Room. The hottest and newest club was brought to Bayville, NY, owned by the Red Queen of the Inner Circle, Madelyn Pryor. The red court tends to reside in Washington; however, business opportunities brought the court to root in the spot she thought was free of their hold.
All she wanted was a simple place to lie low while she searched for Malakai's murderer. Instead of asking for a truce between the Red Queen and herself, she met face-to-face with the Red Rook, Kumira. A nasty bitch. A cigar hung between her lips with a taunting grin. Sitting in the Queen's chair wasn't the issue. No.
The reason Lyla, now sat outside in handcuffs, was Stahr Howlett.
She's supposed to be out of the game.
She's supposed to be in New York City, playing superhero with the Avengers.
She's supposed to be far away from her old master, playing the same old tricks. Yet, she stood beside the Rook, head down, in a red dress complimenting her curves.
Back to reality, Stahr's ninja-like footsteps moved toward Lyla, "What are ya doin' here?"
Lyla flicked her amber-honey eyes to look over Stahr. Instead of snapping the handcuffs off, she tightened her jaw. Best not to make matters worse.
Kneading the tension from her brows, Stahr sighed, "I hope you know this couldn't be helped. You did this to yourself."
A soft masculine voice shifted in Lyla's ears, "The mutant, where are they?" Authority resonated at the base of his throat—a hint of leadership and condensation. Stahr called the X-Men.
Her eyes pleaded with her closest friend. Anxiety filled her belly. Neither of them saw each other since that day in the kitchen. Sister's quarrel never mended.
Ashamed, Stahr dipped her head and stepped into the crowd, out of view.
All hums of noise went silent when her eyes crossed paths with Rogue.
Tonight, Rogue followed the X-Men's field leader, Cyclops. Closed off, her arms were crossed over her chest, her eyes avoidant of her younger sister. Harsh when met.
Through his ruby quartz sunglasses, Scott glanced at the destructive scene. Shards of glass were scattered on the sidewalk and street. Pools of lost blood hung around the broken window. Then, he ended with her fists, thick with dried blood. Not hers, of course.
"You're a mutant?" he asked skeptically.
Lyla shrugged, "Ah try not to announce it. Curfew and all."
Cyclops sucked his teeth. He's wondering how she could be a mutant. She used her legs and hands. His brows knitted together in thought, probably wondering if her powers weren't easy to detect. One can quickly answer the obvious question by looking at her.
"Yah chargin' me?" She rasped.
"We are. The police are not." Lyla glanced over his shoulder to Rogue. She avoided eye contact. Unsure how to move forward.
Cyclops helped her to her feet by grabbing under her arm. Quickly, he pulled her away from the chaotic scene. A black hood was thrown over her face, hiding the route to the X-Mansion.
Rogue didn't want this. She was content living with the X-Men. Comfortable. She was finally getting them to trust her. And, here Lyla goes, messing it up like always. Can she never stay away long enough for Rogue to breathe? Long enough for her to live her life.
Twenty minutes away from the crazy scene, Scott pulled the van up the driveway in front of the marble steps to the mansion. Rogue hopped out, deciding Scott could bring Lyla to the conference room. There's too much history she thought she got over. But seeing her sister again in cuffs stirred up her anger and grief. She wished Lyla didn't affect her as much, but she could do nothing now.
Right behind her, Scott ushered Lyla into the room. Her wrists and ankles were chained. Good for him for being cautious.
He shoved her forward, making her stand in the center of Professor Xavier's old office. Now, occupied by Ororo.
She opened the space to put in a window spreading across the back of her desk. Natural light is a beautiful and sacred thing to Storm. Good for her for making something old and cramped, new and spacious.
It opened the space, allowing Ororo to have a vision. Currently, the furniture to complete such a vision hasn't arrived yet.
Posted against the walls around the room, the X-Men studied her sister, whispering to one another. Unknowing of her ability to hear every unkind word said about her. Odd. Usually, she'd say something harsh to those who said offensive things against her.
Instead, she stood unmoving. Unfazed by their taunting words.
"This is Lyla," Scott started, reading off his datapad, "There isn't much about her. doesn't speak much. And the telepaths at the scene couldn't get past her telepathic walls. Nor is she registered."
Across the room, Rogue glanced toward Ororo, expecting her to jump from behind her desk and embrace Lyla.
"Can the prisoner speak?" Ororo softly questioned, leaning into her chair.
Lyla moved no muscles in her jaw to speak.
"Why is she shackled like an animal?"
Aw, sweet and naïve Kitty. If only she had seen the damage caused at the scene.
"The damage was grave. I had no choice."
"And what was the damage?" Jean, Scott's fiancé, asked.
A pregnant pause fell in the room. Scott allows Lyla to speak up for herself. She did not.
Scott sighed, "Three security guards three times her build was sent the hospital in critical condition. No apparent injuries on the accused."
Kitty raised a brow then turned to Rogue, skeptical, "You two are offley quiet."
Leaning on the wall closest to the door, Wanda pointed to herself with a roll of her eyes. Rogue snorted and shrugged, "Why, Ah don' know what yah mean."
"You usually defend mutants in our custody." Kitty pushed off the wall to meet Rogue, "what about her is different?"
Rogue rolled her eyes, "Ah agree with Cyke."
The room, in unison, gasped, "Spill."
Rogue glanced back at Wanda, who shrugged. Unbothered.
No help she is.
Fine.
"The accused and Ororo know each other."
All eyes turned to Ororo, who glared at Rogue.
She panicked. It slipped, and she silently apologized with a dip of her head and a shrug of her shoulders.
"I do." Not going into detail on the how and why's. In hopes they would move on.
Scott hummed and turned to Jean. "Can you see if you can get into her mind?"
The rules are if you are in the custody of the X-Men, then you are screened by a telepath. If you're a mutant. If the issue is between a mutant and a human, the X-men aren't allowed to question or investigate the humans. But humans can investigate mutants.
Is that fair, reader?
Jean signaled Scott to step to her side while she walked up to Lyla. A smile on her face, polite, as her hands rose to Lyla's temples.
"Ah would reconsider swimmin' in my head red," Lyla said plainly. Her voice calmed. Jean jumped back some as if Lyla snarled to bite her. Like damn, she's not that vicious, is she?
"Yah ain' gonna come out the same," Lyla warned.
Scott stepped in front of Jean, a finger lingering in Lyla's face, "You so much as flinch, I will not hesitate but put you out of your misery."
Rogue couldn't help but roll her eyes at his overprotective nature. When it comes to Jean, he doesn't think straight. It's annoying to watch.
Also unfazed by the threat, Lyla hums, "Ah ain' tryin' to threaten yah. Ah am warnin' yah the other me ain't gonna like yah sniffin' about where yah ain' got no business."
Politely, Jean smiled and came back over to Lyla. She mentioned she's stronger and more patient than most and can handle it. Lyla didn't respond. Standing at full height, she glanced past Jean, preparing for the next steps. The room held its breath, Rogue included, unsure what to expect.
Plus, Rogue understands what Lyla means. Their powers are similar. The memories of others missing with their mind can get crowded and hard to control. It's easy to let psychosis set in. easy to let the other personalities win. At the club, Lyla let her different personalities take over and win.
Jean dropped to a knee, panting. Scott, losing his patience, grabbed Lyla by her tattered hockey jersey, "What did you do?!"
Lyla glanced at his hands, then back into his eyes, "Ah suggest yah remove yah hands from me. Ah don't enjoy bein' manhandled."
He didn't listen.
Lyla isn't keen on repeating herself.
Ororo pushed herself out of the chair, switching the room's mood. Without hesitation, he removed his hands from Lyla and stepped back.
"Please, Scott, take Lyla to one of the guest rooms."
"And why not the holding cells?"
Wanda said, "Because Dr. McCoy isn't finished building it, and Forge is working on the Danger Room and Cerebro to fit Jean's powerset."
"The rest of us, it's late. Tomorrow, we can reconvene and figure out how to deal with Lyla."
Rogue walked up to Scott, "Ah can take her."
He didn't put up a fight. Jean took him by the hand, moving toward the door. Then Kitty and Piotr, the team's newest member, walked out. He, too, knows Lyla, but he didn't want to make a fuss about it or maybe because he's new, he didn't want to jeopardize his placement on the team. Either way, she understands.
Before leaving after the group, Wanda longingly glanced at Lyla. Their last meeting didn't go well, either.
Opting to leave, she turned her back on Lyla.
Once all were out of hearing range, Rogue whipped and shoved Lyla, "What the fuck are yah doin' here?"
Lyla looked through Rogue like she wasn't in the room and turned to Ororo, "Ah can be on my way, no fuss, no muss."
Ororo shook her head with a melancholy smile. She came around her desk, resting a soft touch on Lyla's cheek, "The world hasn't been kind to you, has it, my love?"
Lyla melted into the touch, eyes closed, "no."
It's such a simple word wrapped in such pain.
"To follow your move, I will take her up the stairs. Go get rest." Ororo took Lyla by the hand and moved her up the stairs, leaving Rogue alone to her thoughts.
Rogue entered Ororo's office with a cup of coffee; the other wiped the sleep from her eyes. Last night was a lot to process. She wasn't expecting to see Lyla anytime soon since the fateful night, but here they were, forced together once more. At this point, she thinks God is playing tricks on her.
Emotions she thought she suppressed resurfaced.
In all her empress wisdom, Ororo was right. She needed some rest to think about her next moves. Clear as day, she concluded, for now, she will pretend not to know Lyla unless the verdict makes her stay longer than ideal.
Lyla stood in the center of the office, unshackled at the ankles. Ororo's compassionate but not stupid. Last night showed Lyla isn't trusted to use her hands. But who are they kidding? The same woman who trained Rogue trained her little sister. Lyla doesn't need her hands to kill someone.
Logan, newly wed to Ororo, sat behind in her chair, worn and torn leather boots on her desk. His straw hat dangled on the lamp beside the silver laptop. His hard, beady eyes glared daggers into Lyla's soul. She was unfazed.
"Everyone's so serious this morning."
Rogue sipped her coffee, unbothered. The soft sun hugged her face as it peaked through the massive window behind Logan.
"Did they come up with a sentence?" She asked Laura.
Laura nodded, "Six months house arrest."
God does hate her, huh? Sooner or later, someone will find out she and Lyla are related. Hopefully, today is not the day.
Logan's gruff voice went over the plan for the day, "Lyla, yer gonna clean every car and vehicle we have in the garage from top to bottom. When done with that, we will find somethin' else for ya to do."
Lyla pushed her cuffed wrists toward the room, "Am Ah gonna do this without the cuffs, or am Ah gonna use my entire body to clean y'alls car?"
No one moved or answered her.
"Got it, use my body."
"Shadowcat will escort ya to the garage."
Kitty pushed off the wall next to Kurt and Piotr. Lyla glanced toward Rogue and then stepped out of the room.
"Down to business, Rogue. We need ya to talk to a few people about the disappearance of mutants from mutant town downtown." Logan sat up straight—a manilla folder on the desk.
"Why Rogue?" Scott asked.
"Cause ya ain' willin' to use the methods Rogue uses to get answers." Logan gruffed and turned to her again, "As I was sayin'. Ya wanna head down to the city, see what's goin' on?"
Rogue sifted through the folder and noticed Toad was one of the few mutants missing. She wouldn't consider him a friend, but she did care for her brotherhood team and would do anything to find him and bring him home. Well, his version of home. After the closing down of the boarding house, the Brotherhood dispersed. Lance stayed in the area. Fred moved back to his hometown to wrestle. Toad became a junky and moved to a Mutant-Towne. Tabitha and Wanda moved in with her and joined the X-Men—much to Scott's protests.
"Yah, we got it. We will let yah know what we find." Rogue nodded to Wanda and Laura to head out—one problem after another.