Chapter 2: Seeing the Town
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Seven foot giant: Great first chapter I can't wait to read more keep up the great work and i hope that you update soon
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-Xavier's Institute-
Ororo was a lot of things as a person. Strong, calm and a good listener were some things. Right now… She was equally confused and concerned.
Why?
Because a storm came out of nowhere in the middle of the night, and it wouldn't obey her command to dissipate.
This caused the woman to fly out of her room to investigate, but as she got closer, she heard something within the fog.
"The King and his men stole the queen from her bed." A voice drifted eerily from the mist.
"And bound her in her bones." Another, deeper voice aided.
"The seas be ours, and by the powers. Where and when we'll roam…" Both now loomed as they got closer.
"Yo Ho! All hands! Hoist the Colors high! Heave Ho! Thieves and beggars, never say we die!" The both boomed as thunder roared as a ship came to the shore near the mansion.
"Is that… A Man o' War?!" Ororo gasped, the silhouette of the massive vessel gradually clearing up enough for her to make it out.
Hoping to see if she wasn't hallucinating, she flew closer and learned she wasn't seeing things. There was indeed a massive colonial era vessel sailing toward the mansion.
'What is going on here…?!' She thought to herself as she headed for the deck, hoping to see if anyone was aboard, and ended up landing near the steering wheel of the ship.
"What the–? Ororo?" Calvin blinked upon spotting her land, causing her to see both Calvin and Joshua, the latter of which at the wheel.
"Would you two care to explain why you were not only out at night, but also how you came across this ship?" The woman questioned sternly.
"One sec. Raise all sails!" Joshua called, and the sails immediately raised themselves, much to the weather witch's surprise. "Come on. Let's head into the captain's cabin. The journal has all the answers you'll need." The teen beckoned, walking toward said cabin.
Ororo decided to follow him and Calvin, if only to humor them. Once they were inside, they all took a seat in the furniture that was hard to come by in this day and age.
"So, you had an explanation for me?" The woman prompted, which made Joshua hand her a journal.
"Read the most recent entry in this." He told her.
Confused, the woman did so and opened it to the most recent entry… If it could be called that, given that it's been nearly three hundred years. She was not expecting what she read, and was left speechless.
"Th-This is the Flying Dutchman itself?!" She gasped, her eyes wide in shock as she looked up from the old thing. "I-I thought it was just an old story!" She added.
"So did we, and then it literally rose out of the water for us." Calvin nodded in understanding. "We thought it was a whale surfacing and splashing down before we literally bumped into it." He added.
"There's more to it, though." Joshua chimed in. "This ship, it has a soul of its own, and yearned for a new captain. It chose me." He revealed.
"It… What?" The woman blinked, watching as Joshua pulled out a sword that looked rather beautiful in design.
"This sword belonged to the first captain of the vessel, and—if my presumptions are accurate—it was bound to the Flying Dutchman itself by its second captain, the Scottish Captain turned pirate, Davy Jones himself." Joshua explained. "It was passed down to every captain from then on, if my understanding is correct. The one who holds this blade is the captain of the Flying Dutchman." He continued.
"All of this… I think it explains the supernatural phenomenon that I have witnessed just now." Ororo sighed as she processed everything, handing the journal back to Joshua as she did.
"Aaaand." Calvin chimed in as he hugged his friend's shoulder. "I am the ship's quartermaster, meaning it'll be my job to keep the rest of the crew in line for my captain here's convenience." He grinned.
"You two have some interesting luck, whether it comes to you or if you make it." The white haired woman couldn't help but chuckle. "Still, how are you going to hide the ship?" She questioned, since a constant storm over Bayville was going to be a cause for concern… That, and a Man o' War would be a bit of an eyesore.
"I'm thinking that, if this ship is as magical as it appeared so far, I could take a page out of Freyr's boat Skithblathnir and shrink the Flying Dutchman down to a ship in a bottle." Joshua replied.
"And then hang said bottle from a keychain for easy transportation." Cal nodded. "The rest of the time, it'll just be a regular ol' ship in a bottle on a shelf. No one else will be the wiser." He added, giving Josh a high five.
"Smart." The woman nodded, impressed by the creativity the two teenage buccaneers sported. "I think I'll ride with you both back to the Institute. I might actually enjoy it aboard this fine vessel." She added with a smile as she rubbed the wall, feeling it warm up under her touch as they headed back outside.
It was as if the ship itself was flattered by her compliment.
"Ya know, a weather witch like you could come in real handy as a helmsman, not gonna lie." Calvin noted as Josh took the helm.
"This isn't One Piece, Cal." The California native deadpanned.
"I'll… Think about it." Ororo hummed in reply.
"You don't have to decide today, we still have a lot more people to bring in." Josh told her.
"Thank you." The woman nodded as they arrived at the cliffs behind the institute.
Upon disembarking, Joshua proceeded with his next move.
"Shrink down to a ship in a bottle!" He exclaimed, and in a flash of seafoam green light, the vessel shrunk itself down to what her captain wished and landed in his hands. "Freyr, thank you for Skidbladinir's existence." He sighed with a smile, giving credit where it was due.
The Flying Dutchman, despite being in a bottle, looked like it was still on the stormy seas it was famous for. It was likely an illusion from the magical nature of the vessel herself.
"Since you two had some solid reason for being out late like this, I'll let you two off the hook." Ororo told the two as the three of them made their way back to the Institute. "Don't do it again without letting someone know." She added.
"Got it." Joshua nodded.
"Most pirates don't answer to authority." Calvin scoffed before his tall pal elbowed him in the ribs. "Oof! But, uh, we're not most pirates." He amended.
"It seems the young captain is already getting into his role in keeping the crew in check." Ororo teased with a smirk.
"I try." Josh shrugged as the two teens headed inside.
(Timeskip)
It was the next day and the two young buccaneers were now on their way to class after being dropped off at Bayville High.
And upon walking through the school's front doors…
"Help me, Bob. I'm bully in the alley! Wey hey, bully in the alley! Help me, Bob. I'm bully in the alley! Bully down in Shinbone Al!" The two sang as they stepped inside, dressed in outfits that were much more suited for the New English climate.
Cal was wearing a similar pair of gray Tommy Bahamas pants like his previous outfit, but his brown moccasin boat shoes were replaced with brown leather slip on Xtratuf boots, and his short sleeve Hawaiian beach shirt was replaced by a black custom airbrushed Jolly Roger shirt. And a blue Kenway Academy of Excellence letterman jacket from the sailboating team.
His ring and necklace were still present, and he was also wearing a red rolled bandanna around his neck that he could move to his forehead if need be.
Joshua, meanwhile, was wearing a seafoam green shirt with a pair of cutlasses behind a skull as a Jolly Roger parody under a Kenway Academy of Excellence jacket of his own from the cutlass fencing and sparring team. He was also wearing his necklace and ring, as well as a pair of gray colored jeans with a pair of black leather boots he found in the captain's cabin of the Flying Dutchman.
But no one would ever know that last part. And equally unknown was the fact that both boys had their Hidden Blades on their wrists.
Needless to say, the boys immediately made heads turn as they walked on into the school, especially since they were having a ball of a time singing a cheery morning shanty, apparently.
"Wow, those guys have some serious pirate vibes." One of the female students remarked.
"Yeah, and those necklaces look super rare." Another nodded.
"Wait a minute, are those jackets from the Kenway Academy of Excellence?!" One of the boys exclaimed in recognition.
"Holy crap they are!" Another exclaimed in equal recognition.
The two boys didn't seem to notice as they kept walking, their singing eventually becoming humming as they started looking over their locker and schedule list—at least until their cheery shanty was interrupted by them bumping into someone.
Looking, they saw a bespectacled woman with dark hair, green eyes and fair skin in front of them. She was also wearing a white button up shirt and a tie under a dress jacket. She was also wearing a business skirt that reached her knees and a pair of high heels.
She also had quite the figure as well—and if it weren't for the permanent scowl on her face, Cal would be the first to admit that he'd have the hots for her.
"Has anyone told you two to watch where you're going?" She questioned snappishly.
"A couple times." Cal stated, laying an arm over his friend's shoulder. "Then we put their cars on blocks with no fucking tires, took em on our sailboat, put 'em in cement shoes, and threatened to dump 'em in the ocean." He added, listing on his fingers. "Well, maybe not that last part. But it woulda made my grandpa Vito Antolini proud." He chuckled darkly.
This made everyone in earshot back away slowly… Except for Joshua, who facepalmed in exasperation.
"Sorry about him. He spends too much time watching Mafia flicks." He sighed.
"Futiti. (Go fuck yourself)" The calico eyed teen hissed in Italian.
"You wish." The boy rebuked.
"Regardless, are you two the new students I was informed to expect?" The woman questioned.
"What, are the jackets not a good enough clue for you?" Calvin asked rhetorically, gesturing to his jacket. When the woman glared at him, he held up his hands. "I kid, I kid." He amended placatingly. "Calvin "Calico" Bryant, at your service." He introduced himself.
"Joshua Landbrecht." The taller teen nodded.
This made everyone in earshot very nervous as they recognized the name Bryant as one of the names of one of the heads of the Antolini Crime Family of Port Clovis.
Meaning that they now had an Italian gangster in their school.
"I recognize your last name fully, mister Bryant. I will not tolerate any gangster activity in my school." The obvious principal told him sternly.
"Don't worry. I'll keep him in line." Joshua assured her. "Uh, what's your name? I don't think we got it." He added with a blink.
"Principal Darkholme." The woman replied.
"Hold up." Cal said, doing a double take. "My uncle Bartolomeo said he dated a chick named Darkholme when he was in college." He stated. "A Rose Darkholme, if I'm remembering right. You two related?" He asked.
"I decline you an answer." The woman responded, leaving the answer ambiguous. "Also, I'd appreciate it if you refrained from singing in my halls, this isn't a navy ship." She added as she walked away.
"... Well, there goes our singing." Calvin groaned.
"Hey, if that's the worst thing that happens to us, then it'll be a good day." Joshua shrugged, not all that bothered by it.
"If there's one thing I hate, it's buzzkills." The calico eyed teen sighed as they kept walking.
(Later)
Cal was leaning against his locker as Josh pulled their lunches out of the ice chest he had in his locker, humming "Leave Her Johnny".
"So remind me, what are we having today?" The bespectacled teen questioned.
"Let's see… an Italian roast beef sandwich in au ju with horseradish, potato chips and a canteen rum and coke for you." Josh listed. "And a humble ham, cheese, salami and pepperoni sandwich, mint flavored Oreos and a canteen of chocolate milk for me." He added.
"Ha ha! Come to papa!" The boy smiled as he took his lunch, before lurching as something hit his nose. "Oh god! What is that smell?!" He gasped, covering his nose.
"Whatever it is, it smells like a rotten carcass in a landfill flooded with sewage waste!" Joshua gagged in disgust.
Seconds later, a teen could be seen hopping down the hall, and boy did he look ugly.
He was hunched, skinny, almost lanky, with pale skin, eyes, dirty hair, had big ears and a large underbite that seemed to have never been corrected.
Attire wise he was wearing ratty clothes.
He was also hopping on all fours, giving him a frog-like posture.
"Yo, the way you described me ain't cool, man!" He complained.
"Urg, then don't go around smelling like a dead pig." Josh gagged.
"Yeah! Just-Just take a shower!" Calvin coughed. "Come on, let's get outta here before we taste breakfast again." He groaned.
"Right behind you…" The taller teen groaned as they left.
"Some people just don't know how to appreciate good smells, I swear." The lanky teen said to himself.
(Later)
Lunch went by pretty uneventfully, at least for a bit until one of the cafeteria TVs swapped channels to the Animal Planet, where they showed a TV show that the boys had been following all summer: Maneater.
It showed the most insane female Bull Shark to ever exist throwing fins with Scaly Pete, who was now a double amputee driving a modified PT-22 military boat with modifications that looked far from legal.
"Holy crap, they aired the finale already?!" Cal exclaimed as he nearly spat out his rum and coke.
"I didn't know they reached it by now!" Joshua blinked, watching the show intently.
The broadcast showed Pete firing a torpedo at the shark, only for her to dodge it and grab it before leaping out of the water and flinging the explosive back at the boat! This was another thing about the shark that got the boys thinking…
Was this shark the first animal to have an X-Gene?
They'd seen her grow multiple sets of armor, and she was already doing things that no other shark had the sense to do. The two boys were very curious about the full extent of her mutations.
Not to mention she also ate a ton of mutagenic material so that could have also caused her X-Gene to manifest in odd ways…
It was definitely something to talk to the professor about.
It wasn't long before the shark shed her armors and leapt onto the boat and started fighting Pete face to nose.
"Oh Pete is so screwed." The calico eyed teen chuckled.
"That he is." Joshua chuckled in agreement as he sipped his chocolate milk.
They watched as Pete tried stabbing the shark in the snout when she bit down on his leg, only for him to be thrown toward the back of his boat with his one remaining good leg being torn off. The angry Bull Shark flopped her way toward the back, but stopped when she noticed something behind Pete.
"Wait, is that… dynamite?" Jean questioned as she and Scott sat next to the boys.
"Oh shit." The two said in unison.
Then…
BOOM!
The boat exploded, engulfing both Pete and the shark in a ball of fire.
"Did he just…?!" Scott gasped in shock.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah he did." Joshua nodded in confirmation, eyes wide.
This seemed to be a rather somber moment for the two following the explosion as they really liked the shark herself…
That was until the eagle eyed captain of the Flying Dutchman noticed something as one of the still intact torpedoes was sent flying at the anti Shark barrier around Port Clovis, destroying it.
"Uh, guys? The anti shark barrier just went down." He pointed out, causing them to look and see he spoke true.
"We can see that, but what's that got to do with anything?" Scott questioned.
"And I'm seeing a very familiar dorsal fin heading straight for open water." Josh explained.
"Wait, that shark is still alive?!" Jean gasped, catching on as she looked at the TV.
"Yep… Which also presents an opportunity that me and Calvin have been meaning to investigate." Joshua nodded. "I'd say what it is here, but… Well, there are ears all around us." He added, gesturing to the rest of the cafeteria.
"Speaking of which…" Cal nodded as he got up. "I got something I gotta take care of. Be right back." He hummed as he walked away.
"Where's he going?" Scott asked, getting shrugs from everyone else.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, Cal was leaning against the locker next to the one belonging to one Duncan Mathews, and patiently watched as the teen got slowly more and more frustrated as his lock combination wouldn't
After a few more minutes…
"That's it! I'm getting this fucking lock replaced!" He yelled angrily as he stormed off.
"Ya know, I could tell you the combination Darkholme reset it to." The bespectacled boy called. "For a price, I mean." He amended.
"Yeah? And how would you know it?" The jock questioned, stopping and turning to him upon hearing his voice.
"I have my ways." The mafia teen chuckled in reply. "Now, are you willing to pay up?" He questioned.
"How about instead I beat the answer outta you, pipsqueak?" Duncan growled, grabbing the boy by the collar.
"Very poor choice of words." The teen replied as he slammed his forehead into Duncan's making him recoil, before holding up a recorder. "Cuz now, I own your ass." He added with a grin, sauntering up to the blonde as he held his nose. "So, from now on, you're gonna pay me exactly twenty dollars every Friday on the dot for me to keep this from prying ears. Otherwise, you're fucked." He hissed. "Capeesh?" He questioned.
"... Fuck! Alright, fine." Ducan conceded with a growl, not wanting his football career to be damaged. Taking out his wallet, he fished out twenty dollars and handed it to the mafia teen. "My locker combination?" He prompted.
"That'd be 376605." Cal replied with a grin. "Pleasure doing business with you, Mathews." He nodded as he walked away.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, on the coast of Massechusets—specifically Boston—a familiar shark was swimming along with no opposition. Port Clovis was hell for her, so she had no interest going back there.
As she swam, she didn't decidedly didn't notice the fact that the obscene amounts of mutagen she absorbed in Sapphire Bay before facing Pete was reacting strangely with an anomaly in her genetic code.
That anomaly was a single extra chromosome, one that wasn't a typical double X chromosome, but rather one that was an X but was horizontal in orientation.
This was an X gene. The mutant gene.
As the mutant animal kept swimming along, she groaned when she started feeling herself change in form.
The changes were rapid, which forced her to find either an open pond or a grotto so she could wait them out, and she found one of the former—but as soon as she rested—the changes really got going.
(Later)
With a groan, the shark woke up from her nap… And instantly felt how different her body was as she started crawling towards the shore.
When she was on land, she forced herself upright, she realized just what had happened.
She now had the body of a human teenager, one that looked like puberty had donated a whole treasury to since she was at least five times more attractive than other girls her approximate age.
She was around six foot with fair skin that was almost China-like, with freckles, long flowing and naturally curly locks of red hair, plump lips, gorgeous Granny Smith green eyes, perfect white teeth, and a figure that damn near rivaled a young woman nearly two years her senior like Jean.
The only blemishes—if any—on this utter beauty, were the scars that were on her back towards her shoulders and the middle of her lower back that wrapped around her right side, and a few burns on the left side of her face.
She was also currently naked.
"Ugh…" She groaned, feeling her head throb as she held it in one hand while trying to force herself to her new feet with the other.
Slowly stumbling away from the riverbank, the girl soon saw what looked to be a clothing store with clothes that were outside for advertising purposes.
Feeling a need to cover herself up (and figuring a few clothes wouldn't be noticed), she took a moment to gather herself before she snuck up to the place and snagged a few clothes before she could be spotted.
Ducking into an alleyway, she then put on a green spaghetti strapped shirt, a pair of jeans, sandals and a jacket, before she made her way back onto the street, trying to find somewhere safe to hide.
After a bit, she found herself looking at a two story house near a lake that looked cozy.
Deciding to try crawling underneath the house's car port, she then went into a corner and huddled under a furniture moving blanket as the weather started getting cooler, and clouds gathered overhead.
Seconds later it started to rain, causing the girl to shiver profusely, causing her to pull her blanket around herself all the tighter.
She actually worried she was going to spend the night like this as the hours began to pass by, at least until someone came into her field of view right as she started losing consciousness.
Looking up, she saw it was a teenage boy at around sixteen years of age with black swept back hair, rare violet eyes, caucasian skin and stood at a respectable 5'9" in height. He also had a runner's build.
Said boy was wearing a raincoat and heading out to close the carport door so things didn't get wet… before he skidded to a halt when he noticed that a blanket in the corner of the garage was shivering.
"What the…?" He uttered, his voice having an Irish accent before going to investigate.
Lifting up the blanket, he was startled to find someone was actually under it, and the girl he found clearly needed help.
"Uh, mom?" He called to someone inside the house as the garage door closed. "I think you better take a look at this." He added as he looked at the girl who looked four years younger than him.
Then a woman who was clearly the matriarch of the house came out to see what was up.
She had wavy brown hair, fair skin, brown eyes, and a fit body despite being a housewife. She was wearing a raincoat over a green shirt, blue jeans and a pair of rain boots.
"What's the– Oh dear, what happened to her?!" The woman exclaimed as she quickly walked over, her voice having a very thick Irish accent.
"I got no idea, mom. But she's been sitting here for a while, looks like." The boy replied as he picked her up.
"Let's get 'er inside. I'll get a guest bed ready for her." The woman told her son.
"Got it." The teen nodded as the two rushed inside the house, the redhead snuggling into her carrier for warmth.
"I still don't know why I didn't notice her when I drove in." The woman said as she got a bed ready.
"I think she must've huddled here right as the rain happened." Her son replied. "And by the looks of it her clothes are probably some she scavenged so she's probably either orphaned, homeless, a runaway, or all of the above." He noted.
"Well let's make sure to get her properly taken care of. I'll see about clothes while you whip up something nice and warm for her to drink." The matriarch of the house said as she took the girl into her arms and walked to the guest room.
"Got it." The teen nodded as he walked into the kitchen. "Should I get Gabe to fix up some Irish Stew?" He questioned.
"That would be a good idea, Gideon." The woman nodded.
(Later)
The now humanized Maneater of Port Clovis groaned as she came to not long after, no longer feeling as cold as before.
Looking around, she saw that she was in a bedroom in someone's house. It looked decently furnished, having a desk in front of the window, a dresser next to a closet and not much else.
"Where… am… I…?" She wondered, groaning a bit when she sat up.
That was when she noticed that she was also nearly naked, only being dressed in a nightgown under the sheets—though her indignation was soon replaced with hunger when the smell of something coming down stairs hit her enhanced nose, causing her mouth to water almost immediately.
Getting to her feet (and staggering a bit), she carefully walked down the stairs before she found herself in the kitchen, where a family was basically waiting for her.
At the stove was a slightly rotund teen in a green shirt and black shorts with an apron saying "don't make the cook angry" with a pair of four leaf clovers at the start and finish of it. He also had scraggly brown hair that was under a chef's hat, slightly tan skin and brown eyes.
"Hm? Oh, yer up." He hummed upon spotting her. "Sit down. I'll have the stew ready in a few." He told her before returning to his work.
So, the guest of the home did as told and took a seat at the table, looking and feeling a bit out of place.
"Ya don't need to be so jumpy missy. We're not gonna hurt ya." The man across from Gideon told her. "I'm John Bonny, this is my wife Ally and our sons Gabriel and Gideon." He explained.
"Who are you?" Gabriel asked as he tended to the food.
"... My mom never got to name me." The girl sighed sadly, much to the family's shock.
"What? What happened?!" Gabriel asked in concern.
"I was… Born through a C-section and my mother died in the process. My… I hesitate to call him this—Foster, took me and cut me before tossing me on the streets when I was young—and I've been scraping by ever since." She explained.
That caused the family to adopt angry looks on their faces, and Gabriel in particular was gripping the handle of the pot he was handling so hard his knuckles turned white.
"Where is he?! I'll pound his head to a pulp with my cutlery!" The heavyset cook growled in displeasure.
"Dead. He died in the explosion that gave me this burn." She explained, pointing at the Zuko/Shoto-like burn on the left side of her face.
"... At least we don't have to worry about the bastard." Ally sighed, seeing no point in being pissed off over it.
"True." John sighed, shaking his head. "But I think I know one thing we can do for our guest here." He hummed.
"Give her a meal and help her find a home?" Gabriel questioned.
"That sounds like a good idea." Gideon nodded.
"I was thinking of giving her a meal and giving her a home, here." The patriarch of the family replied.
"Let's take it a step further and adopt her into the family, I say." The matriarch smiled.
"Now you're talkin' mom!" Gideon exclaimed in agreement.
"Guess this means there's one more mouth to feed." Gabrieli sighed as he divied up a series of five bowls that were full of a stew made from Lamb, bacon, onions and potatoes with salt and pepper.
"It ain't that bad, Gabriel. Besides, haven't you been wanting a sister?" John asked his son with a smirk.
"... Fair enough." The brown haired teen shrugged, conceding to his old man's point.
The red haired girl seemed to take this all in at her own pace as she filled her belly with stew, but seemed confused by all this. Why were these people willing to adopt her so easily?
"Why would you guys want to adopt me so easily?" She wondered, voicing her thoughts.
"For starters, we think it's time your life turned around." Ally began. "Second, I've always wanted a daughter." She added with a radiant motherly smile.
"You deserve some good in your life." Gabriel added smiling as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
"I… Thank you." The girl nodded finally, tears welling up in her eyes at finally finding a place she could actually call home.
"That's what family does… Annabeth." Ally told her new daughter, naming her on the spot.
"Annabeth… I like that." The new daughter of the family smiled, relishing in the company of her new family members.
(Elsewhere)
Meanwhile, back In Bayville…
"So here's the deal, boys." Calvin said as he leaned against the bleachers of the Bayville High football field, talking to a group of kids he knew from the library that were of the nerdy variety. "The jocks have been pushing you guys around for far too long. Now, I can not only offer you protection from them, but I can also train you to defend yourselves so if I'm not around to protect you, you aren't helpless." He continued. "Now I can't guarantee that you'd be able to kick their asses, cuz ya know, Jocks are typically more brawn that even the best brains can beat, but it'd be better than nothing." He amended. "All I'm asking for is a little bit of kickback for my services. One fifteen dollar protection fee and a five dollar training fee per week. That's it." He added.
"That sounds pretty simple to learn to defend ourselves." One of them mused. "I have no problems with that." He shrugged.
"Twenty bucks a week? That's nearly half my allowance!" Another protested.
"Some of us gotta feed ourselves, ya know!" Another protested.
"Hey, personal trainers and personal bodyguards aren't cheap. You're lucky I'm setting the rate that low with a 10% discount since I like you guys." The Italian-Irish American teen stated with a shrug.
"... Well, my parents did want me to take some self defense classes." One of the girls in the group hummed. "I have no problems with this." She shrugged.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Cal nodded as he took the advance payments. "That's nearly 25% of the students in my pocket. I am on a roll." He chuckled, counting his cash.
Meanwhile, around the corner, Joshua sighed as he shook his head. He should've figured this was gonna happen from the get-go… So much for keeping him in line.
Then again, with Cal having the jocks, Hall Monitors and now the nerds in his sphere of influence, it had been pretty easy for the two of them to coast on through their first few weeks of school without so much as a peep of school drama.
"Ya know, it hurts me that you're always looking at me like I'm some crook." The calico eyed teen said as he walked over to his friend. "I'm helping these guys mostly out of the fact that we used to be in their shoes once. And all I'm asking for is a small bit of compensation. If I were really heartless, I'd bleed them dry, keep them in line with violence. But I don't. Because that's not how I do things." He added.
"Point made." Joshua shrugged. "At least I can get material to diss Duncan with." He added with a chuckle, having gotten a fairly small amount of said material already.
"Josh, I doubt you'd need to look far for that kind of material." His friend chuckled before he turned, hearing someone hopping by.
To the irritation of their noses, it was Todd again.
"Yo, what's goin' on?" He asked.
"Nothing you need to be concerned with, Toad. Now hop along somewhere else." Cal gagged while Josh tried not to puke.
"Hey, I just wanna see what could possibly bring two boys from a major academy to a basic high school like this." The lanky teen shrugged.
"Toad, you wouldn't understand even if we told you." Josh coughed.
"Aight, fine. Blow me off. I don't care." Todd huffed before he hopped away like he does.
When the air was clean again, the two boys breathed a sigh of relief.
"If I ever let him on the crew, I'm giving him a job that keeps him far away from us." Joshua muttered.
"You'd seriously consider letting him join?!" Calvin hissed quietly in disbelief.
"Part of being a captain is learning to make tough choices." The taller teen shrugged. "Hm… I wonder what Ororo's answer will be when she's ready to give it." He hummed.
"Let's not get too hasty there… The fuck is that amphibious slime ball doing?" The bespectacled teen uttered as they turned and saw Toad picking pockets.
"Ah, fuck. Little pickpocketing idiot is gonna get himself clobbered." Joshua groaned as he saw some jocks– including Duncan– follow the lanky teen under the bleachers.
"... Should we help him?" Calvin asked after a beat passed.
"Nah. Scott's already got that covered." The taller of the two replied, spotting Scott heading under the bleachers next.
"Well, no skin off our backs." Calvin shrugged.
Joshua said nothing, and the look on his face suggested he had something on his mind. His friend noticed this.
"Something on your mind?" He inquired.
"Yeah. The Maneater." Joshua sighed, unable to get the shark out of his head. "I… I feel like I should be out there looking for her. If only to make sure she's alive and well." He continued, feeling worried about the shark in question.
He always had a soft spot for sharks of all breeds, but the Maneater always held a special place in his heart because of the hand life dealt her.
"That's seriously tempting fate, dude. I mean, you do realize that she's liable to eat your ass, right?" Cal pointed out.
"Not if I keep my distance." Joshua retorted. "And maybe attempt to give her a peace offering." He added idly.
"I'd still say to just stick to keeping your distance." The shorter teen told his friend.
Before their conversation could continue…
BOOM!
The storage shed suddenly exploded, startling the two teens.
"The hell?!" Joshua gasped.
"Come on! Let's find Scott!" Calvin exclaimed as he ran for the underside of the bleachers, his tall friend following him.
As soon as they got there, Cal immediately started absorbing the heat energy from the fire, smothering it and allowing them to get Scott out of the wreckage.
"Let me guess, Duncan and his guys jumped you and when you tried to defend yourself, Jean decided to stick her nose where it didn't belong." Cal guessed as Josh got Scott's shades and handed them to Jean.
It wasn't hard to guess what happened based on the evidence around. Unconscious jocks, signs of a struggle, Scott getting his shades knocked off with a bruise on his face, and Jean being near the scene made it pretty clear.
The taller teen stomped on Duncan's stomach, causing him to lurch.
"Seriously, have you never heard of defending yourself, Jean? This is basically your fault." Josh nodded. "You could've defused this, but it looks too much like you didn't." He added.
"That's what I was trying to do, Josh. I told Scott to stop." Jean retorted.
"And thus distracting him and letting him get sucker punched. Yeah, good thinking, Jean." Cal scoffed with an eye roll.
"Lay off, guys. At least she tried." Scott groaned as he held his face, his shades back where they belonged.
"Not enough, given the state of things." Joshua deadpanned.
"For god's sake, Scott. Have some self respect, don't let her rule your decisions." Calvin groaned.
It was at that moment Todd walked up to them, the two pirate teens trying to ignore his stink.
"Hey, thanks for that. Seriously." The lanky teen said to Scott.
"No problem." The shaded teen nodded in response.
"Next time, if you feel the urge to steal: Don't." The bespectacled calico hissed.
"Whoa, chill. I got it, I got it." Todd nodded as he held his hands up placatingly.
"You'd better." Joshua told him sternly. "Come on guys. Let's head back to the Institute." He beckoned as he turned to leave.
(Later)
Later on in the institute, Xavier was sitting in his study after what happened at the football game, when Cerebro suddenly popped up.
"Three new mutant signatures found. Location: Boston, Massachusetts." The hyper advanced computer blared.
"Three? That's an interesting turn of events." The man hummed before he looked further into this new development.
"Collecting data… Three signatures related. First signature Identified: Gabriel Bonny, age 21. Alias: Grendel. Second signature Identified: Gideon Bonny, age 19. Alias: Gauss. Third signature Identified: Annabeth Bonny, age 16. Alias…" The computer trailed off as its system updated. "New information uncovered. Annabeth Bonny true identity: Maneater of Port Clovis. Species: Bull Shark (Formerly), Human (current), shark-human hybrid (current). X-Gene present. Mutagenic material detected. Power capabilities: Unknown." It elaborated.
"What?!" Charles gasped as an image of Annabeth and the aforementioned shark appeared side by side on screen. "An animal with an X-Gene?! This is unheard of!" He exclaimed in shock.
He needed to send some of his students to collect these three before Magneto had a chance to act.
(Later)
Joshua was looking at the Flying Dutchman as it sat on his shelf, rubbing the glass case delicately as he watched the vessel sway in the storm within. A part of him still couldn't believe the luck he and Cal had when they literally bumped into the ghost ship, especially since it's become quite the story in the past couple of centuries.
It just felt… So surreal.
"Joshua, Calvin, Scott, Jean, report to my office. Three new mutant signatures have been detected." Charles' voice suddenly sounded off in the tall teen's head, causing him to jump. "Also, there's someone I'd like you to meet." He added.
"I hate it when he does that." The teen sighed as he got up.
(Later)
It was later on and now everyone was downstairs where the professor and Ororo were with someone neither of them recognized.
Whoever it was had some baggy clothes on, and no one could make out any defining features.
"Who's this?" Joshua asked, looking at the newcomer.
"This is Kurt Wagner, he arrived just last night." Xavier explained.
"Okay, then what's with the medieval getup?" Calvin questioned.
"Cal, don't be rude." Scott told him as he went to shake Kurt's hand… And was a bit surprised by the blue three digit hand he was greeted with.
This caused Kurt to back away, which made the calico eyed teen facepalm.
"Dude, quit being such a wuss and take the cloak off already. This scared cat routine is already getting old." He groaned, before getting ribbed by Josh.
"You gotta learn to be more gentle with people." He told his Quartermaster sternly before looking at Kurt. "Sorry about him. He has a bit of a mafia side to him." He told Kurt apologetically.
This caused Kurt to finally pull his hood back, revealing a face covered in blue fur, blue hair, and had pointy elf-like ears.
"Holy shit, he's a real life imp!" Cal guffawed.
"Really, dude?" The Dutchman's captain deadpanned.
"What?! Dude's got a spaded tail, man. Kinda hard not to draw that comparison." The teen defended.
"Don't vorry about it. That remark is actually pretty tame." Kurt told Joshua in a thick German accent.
"Well, if it doesn't bother you…" Joshua trailed off with a shrug.
"Believe me, if I had a nickel for every time someone pointed out my eyes, I'd probably have a thousand bucks worth of nickels." Cal stated as he patted Kurt on the shoulder. "So don't take it personally." He added.
"Yeah. Same with my height. You'd be surprised at the number of jokes made about that topic." Joshua nodded. "So, what can you do?" He asked.
Kurt responded by teleporting from one side of the room to the other.
"I can also climb on walls and ceilings like a spider." The blue teen elaborated.
"Nice." Joshua nodded, already seeing a potential crew member for the Flying Dutchman in Kurt.
"So what's the deal with these new signatures?" Scott questioned.
"They've been detected in Boston, Massechussetts. I'm sending you, Jean, Joshua and Calvin to get them." Charles replied.
"Wait, all four of us?" Cal questioned. "A bit overkill don't ya think?" He added.
"Not in this case. One of them has turned out to be the Maneater of Port Clovis, who apparently has an X-Gene." The man replied, shocking everyone.
"Wait, me and Josh had a theory about that! We weren't expecting to be right about it!" The calico colored teen yelped in surprise.
"I'm going to assume that you're sending the four of us in case things turn hostile?" Jean guessed.
"Correct. I know you four have enough talent to handle yourselves." Charles nodded in reply.
"Better safe than sorry. I get that." Joshua nodded. "When do we leave?" He asked.
"Now, if you're willing." The crippled man replied.
"We'll get our stuff together." Joshua nodded, leaving to get what he needed along with Calvin, Scott and Jean.
They had one interesting mission ahead of them.
ThermalsniperN7: Here, have another update. Yes, we've opted to not only bring Maneater into this (since the Antolinis already exist), but we've also decided to reference Warframe's iconic duo, Gauss and Grendel. We've also decided to make the Maneater into the first animal with an X-Gene that was then further mutated from there for shapeshifting, hence her transformation. It was pretty simple, since the setup was already there in-game. We also decided to name her Annabeth "Anne" Bonny, and she'll be shipped with Joshua… Though not right away. And no, this doesn't count as beastiality. If the being looks and acts human, then they're fair game.
Dragon Emperor0: Think of Anne's situation like Beast's in the show, but kinda in reverse. Also, keep an eye on Cal's penchant for leveraging people by playing things to their benefit, but doing so in a way that benefits him. That'll become important later on when Kingpin enters the chat.
ThermalsniperN7: Because we just know he's gonna pull something stupid. Also, Looks like Joshua's scoping out people as potential crewmates for the Flying Dutchman. He's already got his eye on Ororo, Toad and Kurt. That's definitely a good start. I wonder who else he'll offer a spot on the Flying Dutchman to…
Dragon Emperor0: My money's on Kitty being one since both she and Kurt did time as pirates in the Uncanny X-Men and Classic X-Men comics respectively. Not to mention, multiple characters could be on board, even if they aren't given a specific role because they can either fill in for that designated person or just help out. They don't necessarily need an assigned role to be a member of the crew, just like any ship.
ThermalsniperN7: That is true, and it never hurts to have extra hands aboard for any situation. Joshua could potentially recruit other mutants to serve as a boarding party, if need be. Though how he'll get those hands is a mystery… For now. Anyway, see you guys next time.