A look at the characters of the Mission X universe

Here, I will be posting parts of my story where I think each character shines the most.

The Leader: Catty

Tabitha Katherine Wagner, daughter of Kurt and Amanda, codename Switch.

“Guys? Isn’t it getting a little chilly?” Catty said softly. “For July, I mean.” She was watching the leaves blow around and though she had fur, she could feel the wind on her face. It was a bit odd that the leaves had begun circling the house.

Xavier looked at the lawn for a moment. “I believe we know what the boy can do,” he said quietly.

“He can control wind?” Pietro grinned.

“Yeah, but he doesn’t have control and we just got him extremely upset,” Catty began to realize that this whole trip might end in disaster. The wind was picking up so much they could see dirt and grass lift off of the ground. The Williams’ house was about to become a tornado ground zero.

Catty grabbed the Professor and Pietro and teleported to the sidewalk across the street. “Stay here,” She said. “I’ll take care of this.”

“Switch, wait--!” Xavier began, but she was already gone.

Standing in the living room, she looked around for Aaron’s parents. They were talking in the kitchen, oblivious to the situation. She ran into the kitchen and grabbed their arms. “Wha—!” Shouted Mr. Williams. “What are you…”

“No time to explain,” Catty said. “Brace yourselves and cover your noses.”

“Miss, I demand an…”

BAMF.

Tara Pryde

Daughter of Kitty Pryde and Lance Alvers, codename Lightning.

“Come ON, Tara!” Aaron rapped on her door for the fourth time loudly. “Let’s go, I’m not going to wait all day!”

“Of course not,” Tara opened her door and she stood before him in full uniform, the same design as her mother’s with the added accessory of blue lightning earrings. “Why would you be made to wait all day for little old me? I am not worth all of that kind of trouble.” She looked at his uniform and stopped walking. “Is that a new suit?”

“Yeah, you like it?” He turned around. “Cool, right? Matches my hair, all dark green.”

“Wow, Aaron, how girly of you to say such a thing,” Tara laughed at his shocked face. “Wow. ‘It matches my hair’, HONESTLY, that is like totally unbelievable and it is so getting spread around.”

“You will not!” Aaron shouted. “You witch!”

“I will so,” Tara giggled. “’less you catch me!” She ran off, laughing and giggling as he followed. Aaron grinned to himself as he chased her. If this wasn’t flirting, he didn’t know what was.

The chase stopped abruptly as Tara barreled face first into Kish, sending the amazingly skinny mutant teen flying backward onto his butt with a groan. “I’m sorry,” She cried, covering her mouth. Aaron caught up with her and held out a hand. As Kish reached up, he pulled it away, sending Kish back to the floor with a dull thud.

“Sych!” He laughed.

“Aaron!!” Tara whirled around and pushed him. “You… you… JERK!”

“What, it was just a joke,” Aaron rubbed the back of his head as Tara held out her hand to help Kish up.

Aaron Williams

Rich boy, heir to the Williams estate, codename Windstrider.

“Our son is in there!” Mrs. Williams cried.

“Your son is causing this,” The professor explained. “He is a mutant, like me and the girl I came here with. Hopefully, she can calm him down long enough to stop this.”

Meanwhile, Catty had found Aaron’s room and went to him. He was sitting on the floor, holding his head and scrunching his eyes shut tightly. “Aaron!” She shouted above the deafening noise. The wind was stronger in here. Aaron’s things and furniture were flying around the room at top speed. “Aaron!”

He looked up at her. “What’s happening to me?!” He cried. “What’s wrong with me?!”

She kneeled beside him, hanging on to the bedpost and trying with all her might to stay on the ground. Taking his hand and letting him feel the furry, three-fingered hand beneath the hologram, she smiled. “Nothing is wrong with you. I need you to focus on me. Can you do that?”

“I don’t know,” He screamed. “I can’t think! My head hurts!”

“I know it does,” She shouted back. “Focus on me! Listen to my voice and try to take control!”

Aaron squinted his eyes closed again. He looked like he was trying to hard. Catty squeezed his hand. Suddenly, she was ripped from the ground and was flying through the air. For a few seconds it was exhilarating, until she slammed into the wall. “Aaron, please!” She cried in pain. “Focus!!”

“Focus,” He said to himself. “Calm…”

The winds slowly died down, and the house suddenly fell silent, and Catty fell to the ground with a thud. “Are you okay?!” Aaron shouted and ran to her.

“I’m fine…” she groaned as she got up with his help. “You need a few power control lessons.”

“I guess so,” He said, smiling. “Any chance that Professor guy’s offering any?”

Steven Coale

Adopted by Scott Summers, codename Ember.

Steven grimaced at his bowl of cereal in agitation as Aaron strutted his way into the kitchen. He had gotten up this early to avoid the obnoxious new guy, and yet here he was. He felt like he would have been better off just staying in bed.

“G’morning!” shouted Aaron cheerfully, grabbing the box of cereal off of the table and sticking his hand into it. “How’s kicks?”

“My ‘kicks’ are fine,” Steven said dully, trying to seem uninterested.

“Man, this place rocks. Doesn’t this place rock?”

“Yeah, it sure does,” Steven moaned, realizing he was stuck with Aaron until the girls got up. Thinking of the girls made him think of Catty. Looking at his bowl, he struggled not to turn red.

“What about that Tara, huh? Is she just playing hard to get or is she really that much of a bitch?”

“I wouldn’t say she’s a…”

“I mean, come on! The people around here should loosen up, have some fun!” He grabbed Steven’s shoulder and shook him lightly. “Including you, tiger.”

“Hey, get your hand off of me!” Steven shouted, yanking away. “What is your problem? Why do you have to talk? And stop eating out of the cereal box! Human Beings eat out of BOWLS.”

Aaron stood there, hand halfway to his mouth, staring at Steven. He was obviously startled by Steven’s sudden outburst.

“Sorry, Aaron. I didn’t mean to snap like that. I just… you know…”

“No, man, I get it. I’m intruding on your personal space. I get that.” He grabbed a bowl and sat down across from Steven. “I’ll just sit here and be quiet. Quiet quiet quiet. I swear. No noise”

Steven couldn’t help but smile. Aaron wasn’t so bad. He just needed a bit of taming.

Benjiman Malcolm Wyndgarde Xavier

Adopted by Charles Xavier, clone of Xavier and Magneto, codename Maestro.

Ms. Carol was walking down the third floor hall when she passed little Ben near the stairs.

“Oh, dear,” She said sweetly. “Do you need some help?”

Ben nodded gratefully And took her hand. As Ms. Carol walked down the stairs, Ben held onto her hand and buried his face into her shirt. They got to the first floor in almost no time. “There you go, honey,” She smiled down at him and ruffled his brown hair. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

Ben grimaced as she left. He never spoke, so everyone treated him like a little child. Some of the other kids even treated him like he was stupid. But Ben was far from stupid, and he smiled at this fact as he curled up in a chair and began to read.

The peace was short-lived, as Ben soon found out. At seven the other kids were waking up and bounding down the stairs. He tried to slink into a corner, but he was too late.

“There’s our little metal detector,” One of his usual nemeses called out as he grabbed Ben’s arm.

“Yeah, it’s dumb-dumb Benny,” another boy shouted. “How’re you feeling, dumb-dumb Benny?”

Ben flinched.

“Awwww, is dumb-dumb Benny afraid?” The first boy said. “Is the widdle mutie afwaid of us?”

They followed as he attempted escape to the little playground in the front yard. Bayville looked terrible. The boys each took an arm and sat him down on a swing. “Come on, talk for us, Benny,” One of them said. “We know you can talk with your powers. Come on.”

“Oo, he can make that pretty music he makes when he’s all alone,” The other smiled harshly. “Poor widdle Benny.”

“You gonna find any metal for us today, little metal detector?” They leaned in close as one grabbed his ear. “A few quarters for your pals?”

Ben didn’t cry. He never cried.

Tyler

Son of Forge, codename Wartech.

“So, I’m Tyler, and I can build stuff.”

“You can build stuff.” Catty said coolly before Aaron could say anything snide.

“Yeah.”

“Like what?”

“Well, I specialize in high-tech defensive machinery and non-lethal weaponry.”

They all looked around at each other, unsure of what Tyler had just said.

“Really?” Shouted Johnny from the doorway. “Can I see?”

“Um… sure, kiddo,” Tyler smiled weakly, quickly transforming his arm into a dangerous-looking weapon thing. Aaron’s eyebrows rose.

“Neat!” Johnny grabbed Tyler’s arm and turned it around, examining every detail closely. Tyler looked amused. “Wow, is this a proton cannon? This is really masterfully designed. Did you do all of this yourself?”

“I sure did,” He laughed and ruffled Johnny’s hair. “How’d you know that it was a proton cannon?”

“The wiring and build gives it away,” The eight-year-old let go of his arm and grinned, closing his eyes in pride of his knowledge. “You were sure right when you said you were a master of non-lethal weaponry.”

The others gave each other looks of confusion and shrugged.

Alaina Xavier

Clone of Mystique and Charles Xavier, codename Shifter.

“Where did you come from, Alaina?”

Xavier sat across from the girl, looking as gentle and warm as a loving father. The members of Mission X, Rogue, Johnny, Scott and Jean stood around the room, trading whispers and yawns. Johnny seemed to be falling asleep standing up, leaning on his mother.

“My mom said it would be safe here,” She said again.

“Safe from what?”

“I don’t know, a man,” Alaina looked at her feet. “A big man.”

Catty was looking at the professor’s eyes. Glancing back at Alaina, she realized that they were the same. She grabbed Steven’s shoulder and pointed it out. Steven jumped, then nodded.

“Who is your mother?”

Suddenly, a Bamfing noise made everyone jump. Kurt had appeared next to Scott, responding to the call made by Catty. He looked around and grinned. “Good morning!” He was greeted with groans.

“My… my mother?” Alaina stuttered, recovering from the shock.

“Yes, who sent you here?”

“My mother’s name is Raven, Raven Darkholme.”

Kurt jumped. “What? Who did you just say?”

“You heard her,” Xavier put his hands together. “So. Mystique is a part of this.”

“She told me to find my father,” The girl began to twist a towel with her fingers. “My father would keep me safe from what happened to her other children.”

Rogue and Kurt exchanged glances.

“She didn’t want the big man to hurt me, and she didn’t want me to be in a place that wasn’t safe. She said my father would help me.”

“Who is your father?” Catty asked shakily. She knew the answer already, but she couldn’t understand how it was possible.

Alaina lifted a single, pale finger at Xavier just as Logan walked in.

“What’s goin’ on?” He asked gruffly as he opened his beer with a claw.

Sara

Adopted by Kurt Wagner, codename Swordflash.

“Wow! This place is… um, wow!” Sara put her hands together in delight. “Is this where you train?”

Aaron smiled at her and then looked at the Professor. “Yeah, this is it. Do you really like it?”

“Oh my gosh, yes!” She giggled happily. “I’ve never had a big place like this to train before.”

“What exactly do you do?” Kurt asked. He’d been asking that question for the better part of an hour, and still Sara had been elusive on the subject, shying away and talking about something else. This time, however, she picked up a sword off of the weapons wall and weighed it.

“The balance of this one is almost perfect,” she whispered. “It’s so much better than the one I have at home.”

“You have a sword?” Aaron said, suddenly rethinking his choice of girls. If she owned a sword just for kicks, she might be a nut.

“Yeah, it belonged to my father. When he died he left it to me.” She started playfully swinging the sword in arching waves, creating sounds in the air like a flute. “I was two when he died. I’ve been learning how to use it ever since.”

“So you know how to use that?” Kurt said, picking up another sword.

“Yeah-huh.”

“Show me.”

Watching them spar was like watching professional dancers, or watching a tight rope walker, or seeing dolphins swim. It was truly amazing for Aaron to just sit there and see every twist and bend of that acrobatic master, and that beautiful girl who had taken off her sweater and was wearing a tank top underneath. She really was beautiful, and Aaron was hooked. Who needed that spunky, fiery little Tara anyway?

But for some reason, thinking about Tara made his chest hurt.

Dominique Drewlett

French runaway, bad attitude, codename Sombre.

Dominique grabbed her head, there was too much negative energy, she felt like her head was about to explode. She fell to her knees and black energy waves burst out from her smashing holes in walls and knocking everyone around her down. "Stop it!" She screamed.

Kish saw Dominique drop as he flew backward. Struggling from a pain in his side, he pulled himself up and fought his way towards her. "Dom!" He cried. "Dominique, are you--?" He was thrown back again by another blast. Again he struggled to his feet. "Dominique!" He slowly started walking to her, reaching out a hand. When he made it, he knelt beside her and grabbed her hand. "Dominique, listen to me. Dom? Hey. Here I am, focus on me. You have to get control. Dominique?" When she didn't answer, he wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "Come on, just focus. Focus..."

Aaron looked around desperately, trying to find some way of escaping. Then he saw Catty's eyes flutter. "Catty!" he yelled, running over to where Pietro had dropped her when he fell. "Can you switch powers with Dominique? You have more control..." She nodded weakly, and he pulled her towards Dominique, Kish holding onto her to try and calm her down. Catty reached out feebly, touching her shoulder. There was a flash, and both girls screamed as their powers switched. Suddenly, Dominique disappeared with a puff of smoke, leaving Catty to try and gain control of her power.

Dominique appeared next o Aaron then disappeared again and appeared in the corner of the room. "My head isn’t hurting." She said. This was the first time years that she didn't even have slight pain in her head. "What happened?"

"Catty and you switched powers." Aaron replied simply. "It's her other...talent."

"She can keep my powers, I pretty much hate them." Dominique said. "And one more question, why are we standing here talking when we should be running, from what I've heard, this place is going to explode, why are Americans such demueres."

Aaron scratched his neck. "Good point."

Aquarius "Kish" Lensherr

Clone of Magneto, Kurt Wagner and Mystique, raised by Magneto, codename Nightshade.

Kish slammed into the wall full-force, causing rocks to fall from cracks. He slid to the ground, moaning in pain as Magneto advanced. “Father…” He whispered, feeling the blood trickle down his chin. “I’m s-sorry, I just…”

Magneto picked him up again and threw him into another wall, this time creating an audible crack that resounded across the huge metal dome-shaped control room. Remy glanced up from his work position, but didn’t turn to look at what was going on. “I just… I didn’t mean to d-disobey…”

“You disobeyed a direct order,” Magneto shouted, striding forward and lifting Kish into the air by the front of his shirt. “All you had to do was bring Xavier’s clones to me. Was that so difficult for your tiny insignificant and incompetent brain to understand?”

“No…” Kish groaned as Magneto shook him. “I just thought… I should let them go… I thought… f-fair’s fair…”

“They let you and Blackangel off the hook, so that means you were kind in turn and let the little brats go home,” Magneto said in mock sweetness. “How… adorable. Simply heartwarming.” Throwing him again, Kish skidded across the floor and tried to push himself up, holding his side and wincing in pain. Magneto was coming towards him again. Looking up, he saw that his father was holding out a hand to help him up. Reaching for it, Magneto suddenly pulled it away, causing Kish to fall onto his side. Kish yelped in agony.

As Magneto passed Gambit on his way out, he waved to Kish struggling on the floor. “Gambit, clean that mess up.”

As soon as the doors slammed shut, Remy leaped to his feet and ran to Kish. “You alright, mon ami?” He asked softly. “Here, I’ll help you up.” Pulling the teenager to his feet, he let Kish lean on his chest. “There, you’re okay, little man.”

“I d-don’t understand why he hurts me like that,” Kish sobbed as Remy sat him down and started cleaning up his bloody face. “It’s like he’s—Ow—like he’s convinced everything’s my fault.”

“The man’s been through a lot,” Remy wiped up the blood on his mouth. “He used to beat up on Pietro when he was younger. Never saw him do this to him, though. Never this bad.”

Kish coughed up more blood and Remy mopped it up. “My side really hurts,” he moaned softly.

“Probably broke a few ribs,” Remy touched the side in question and Kish hissed and winced. “I’ll tape them up. Come on, let’s go. Remy will fix you right up.”

“Y-yeah, in just enough time for him to break me again.”

“That’s right, now be quiet.”

The rest of these guys I am going to post are in the new brotherhood. I don't have a lot for them so their posts will be shorter.

Michael Hart

Clone of Warren Worthington III and the Doctor (The main villain for most of the series), codename Blackangel.

Mike tapped his fingers rapidly on the tabletop, absently staring at Manny on the opposite side of the room. Eventually, Manny snapped. “What?!” He shouted. “Stop tapping, you’re giving me a headache.”

Mike looked away from Manny and instead glanced at the clock. Nine-o-seven. Kish was never late for breakfast. True, Kish had left last night after dropping off Ben and Alaina, but he was always back by eight thirty.

“PLEASE, stop tapping?” Manny said. “Ai.”

Mike looked at him. “If you don’t like my tapping, you can always just leave,” He said in a growl. Manny stood up, cursed at him in Spanish, and went to go hog the phone with his “Mami” again.

The phone rang before he could get to it, and he brought it to Mike. “It’s for you,” Manny said grouchily.

“Hello? Kish?” Mike asked.

“No, it’s Alaina,” She said softly. “Listen, I don’t have much time to chat, is everything okay over there? Ben mentioned something about you guys getting in trouble for letting us go maybe.”

“No, we’re okay,” Mike said. “I don’t know where Kish is, but I’m sure he’s fine.”

“Okay,” Alaina breathed. “Can you come meet me at my school after classes?”

“Sure,” Mike said. Before she could hang up, he added, “Hey, Alaina?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

There was a brief silence. He imagined she was probably blushing her cute little face off. He knew he was getting red. “I… Mike, I love you, too,” She said quickly and a little loudly. “I gotta go, goo’bye!”

He listened to the phone slam down with a large clatter, then hang up. He smiled widely and stood up, having completely forgotten about Kish. Putting his dishes in the sink, he thought about her pretty smile and her sapphire eyes, wondering how he could ever score a girl like that.

Manny

Mysterious homeless mutant, codename Mirror.

“Didn’t you say this place was abandoned?” Tara asked as she wiped her hand across the dust free coffee table top.

“I thought it was. And unless a dog or a cat suddenly got the urge to clean house,” Lance looked at the blankets on the slept-in couch. “A person lives here.”

Suddenly, a piece of sharp glass flew right by Lance’s face and embedded itself into the wall with a thud.

“Get out, or I won’t miss next time.” Lance and Tara looked around at the speaker. It was a fifteen of sixteen year old boy with scruffy looking blonde hair and bright brown eyes, pointing his wrist at them. Tara almost laughed at this seemingly stupid gesture until she saw a glass blade protruding from said wrist. “I mean it! Get out of here!”

“Listen, kid, we aren’t here to hurt you…” Lance began to hold a hand out, but the boy shook his wrist at him threateningly. “What’s your name?”

“Adam West,” He scoffed. “None of your business, smart guy!” Lance and Tara looked at each other in amusement. “Hey, for all you know I could be Adam West!”

“Aren’t you a bit short, Adam?” Lance asked with a grin. “C’mon, kid.”

He looked from Lance to Tara in confusion. These people weren’t scared of him like everyone else was.

“We’re mutants, too,” said Tara. “Come on, put the… erm… blade away.”

He slowly lowered his arm and the glass shrank back into his wrist. “I’m Manny,” He said quietly. “I just needed a place to stay.”

“Hey, you can stay here,” Lance grinned. Kish’s mistake could be covered up. “What’s your real name, Manny?”

“Mirror,” The boy replied quickly. “My name is Mirror.”

Magnus and Luna

Known as Magnus and Ghost Moon, Quicksilver's twin children.

Aaron blasted a gust of wind at the leader. “Call me Magnus,” The arrogant looking boy said as the wind bended around him. He sent a magnetic blast at Aaron, knocking him to the ground. Magnus placed a foot on Aaron’s chest. “I’m you’re worst nightmare, tough guy. Go on, keep struggling.”

Tyler pressed a button on his metallic arm and an energy shield appeared around him, blocking the blue blast from the silver haired girl. “What do they call you, sweetie?” He asked sarcastically as he shot at her with his proton cannon.

“They call me…” She said softly as she took a step through the blast and disappeared, suddenly appearing next to Tyler, so close he could feel her breath on his ear. “…Ghost Moon.” She swung a punch right into his jaw, knocking him out with a frightened yell and toppling him to the ground.

The Doctor

This bit is from NeXt Gen, which happens four or five years after the events in Mission X. I wanted a good bit for the Doctor, who is Ben's nemesis.

Pushing the doors open was a challenge for her skinny ten-year-old form, and she squealed when lightning crashed and illuminated the cloaked and hooded man. He shushed her. "Little girl," he said in a harsh whisper. "I need to speak to Benjiman."

"Who are you?" she asked, shivering as rain got on her nightgown. This guy creeped her out, and she could feel the goosebumps spreading up her arms and the hairs raising on the back of her neck.

"I'm a friend of his," he said. "Well, not really a friend. An acquaintance. I need to speak with him, it is urgent."

She squinted up at him. "I'll go get him," she said. "You stay here."

He nodded.

"Don't move," she warned, closing the door. Running down the hall, she got to Ben and Jonah's room. "Ben," she whispered. The two had been introduced earlier and she thought he was really stiff. "Ben, someone's here."

The door opened and Ben stepped out, putting on his glasses. He didn't look like he had been asleep. "Who is it?"

"This guy with a hood and a cloak," she said. "He looks like Batman."

Ben's eyes widened. "He's here? Now?"

"Yeah, right now."

He looked at the door and furrowed his brow. If the Doctor was here, he must want something. He hadn't seen hide nor hair of the man for four years. Now here he was again.

Curiosity overtook him as he walked to the door and pushed it open. Alexis remained at Ben's door, shaking, her bare feet numb on the cold metal floor. The Doctor still stood there, waiting patiently. In one swift movement, Ben grabbed the front of his cloak and pulled him inside, slamming him against the wall.

"Who AM I?!"

"Benjiman," the Doctor said. "Perhaps you can invite me inside politely instead of throwing me around like a sack of meat."

"It's funny how you think being snide is going to help you," Ben growled. "Now answer the question. Who am I?" He could not remember a time in his life where he had been so angry at one person. Here he was, after four years, evading capture. Here he was, the one man who could tell him who he really was.

"You really want to know?" The Doctor stopped struggling in Ben's grip. He seemed to be right where he wanted to be.

"Yeah," he said. "I want to know."

"I will tell you." his mouth curled into a smile that could kill a man.

Ben, shocked, dropped the man and stepped away. The cloaked enigma stood and brushed himself off. "What?" He hadn't expected it to be so easy. He wanted to have fought for the truth. He was getting it for free. "What do you want?" He said.

"I will tell you everything you could ever want to know," he said. "If you do me a small, insignificant favor."

"And what's that?" he asked hesitantly. He could get in serious trouble for doing this on his own.

"You have to stop Magneto," he said quietly, folding his arms.

And now, I will post up my personal favorite chapter of Mission X, "Camping is for Brave Men".

“So, you ARE sure we’ll be safe out there alone, right?” Kish said as the Professor watched him pack.

“I’m quite sure you will all be perfectly safe,” the old man smiled and put his hands together. “What are you afraid of? You are all mutants of great skill, with combat training and experience. What could a wolf or a bear do to you?”

“It’s not the animals, Professor,” Said Aaron from the doorway. “I heard the west woods were haunted.”

“The ghost of the west woods?” Xavier laughed. “I doubt such a thing is real. Really, Kish, you shouldn’t be frightened. Don’t listen to Aaron, he’s only attempting to convince you not to go.”

“What? No I’m not,” Aaron said defensively. “I just think, you know, with how jumpy Kish is and all, he shouldn’t go out into the west woods with us. Ooooooo,” He added with a flourish.

“Shut up!” Kish cried, throwing a pillow at his head. “I’m not scared, I’ll go.”

“Great, thanks a lot, Professor. Now he’s gunna ruin the whole trip,” Aaron muttered. “He’s gunna whine and complain the whole time and none of us are going to have a good time.”

“That’s enough,” Xavier turned his wheelchair around to face him. “This little field trip can be called off and you can celebrate your eighteenth birthday here doing chores.”

“What?!” Aaron objected.

“Or you can stop trying to get your teammate to back out of the trip,” the Professor glanced at Kish and winked. Now Kish HAD to go, whether he wanted to or not, because the guy was sticking his neck out for him.

“Ugh… fine,” Aaron groaned. He turned and left, grumbling under his breath.

…………………

“No.”

“Oh, come ON, Dom, you gotta go. I’m defenseless without you,” Kish intercepted her attempted escape from the kitchen. “If I go out into the woods alone with Aaron and Ben I won’t come back alive! There will be a tragic accident and no one will miss me.” He got to his knees to beg. “Please!”

Dominique glared at him. “Get up. I don’t do camping.” She pulled him to his feet and punched him in the arm.

“Ow! Okay, what was THAT for?” He sighed dramatically.

She punched his arm again. “The first one was for being a wuss.”

“And what was the other one for?”

She smiled and flipped her hair as she left. “Don’t call me Dom.”

“Will you go?” He followed her into the living room in desperation. “Are… are you going? Please say you’re going.”

“Fine, but you owe me,” She faced away from him as she sat on the couch so she could grin.

“What do I owe you, anything, anything you want!”

“I haven’t decided yet,” She said breezily, flipping her hair again.

………………………

“New York, Bayville, West Woods,” Sara recited from the back of the bus. “Thick tree growth and brush, rare forest fires and multiple forms of wild life, including deer, black bear, rabbit…”

“Be quiet,” Aaron called from the front.

“No, no, she’s getting to the good part.” Ben was on his knees on the seat in front of Sara, looking at her with wide eyes. “Sshh, Aaron, I want to hear this.”

“…and several large and tracked packs of wolves,” Sara continued, glaring at Aaron. “There are many species of plant and insect life, but the most famous part of the Forest is the tales of hauntings deep in the West Woods.”

“Wait, wait, ‘hauntings’, plural?” Kish said nervously, turning around in his seat to look back at her. “Ow! Dominique, that actually hurt!”

“Kindly sit down, Ben, Kish,” Jean called from the driver’s seat. “I don’t want to have to turn around because someone went flying through a windshield."

“Yes, hauntings, plural,” Ben said, moving to sit next to Sara. “Go on.”

“ Stories have ranged anywhere between blood painted on the trees to figures in white dresses wandering in between the trees. Some campers…”

“Like us,” Ben grinned pointedly at Kish, who groaned.

“…have even reported hearing a woman sing just beyond the light of their campfires while they slept. As legend goes, the forest has been the death place of many people over the course of history, the most famous being the White Lady of the West Woods.” Sara stopped to look around. Everyone had moved to the back to listen to her recite her research, even Kish, who sat very close to Dominique and appeared to be annoying her. “The White Lady was supposedly murdered along with her husband on her wedding day. They went to a small cabin in the forest for their honeymoon due to their shared love of wildlife and trees. As they arrived and stepped out of the small car they had driven down one of the only trails, they were killed by a madman known as the Jackal with his bare hands, and he soon after strangled himself with the White Lady’s veil. They say that to this day, the White Lady searches for her beloved husband, still dressed in her tattered but still beautiful wedding dress. The woods are also said to be haunted by the Jackal, but no witnesses were ever available to back up sightings of the wild looking man with a veil around his neck.”

Kish looked very pale and was now hugging Dominique’s arm. Once she realized this, Dominique shoved him off. “Baby,” She muttered.

“What about the blood on the trees?” Tara asked, eyes as wide as saucers.

“Some say it’s the White Lady, marking her way so she knows where she’s looked,” Sara said, closing her eyes and pulling forward the memory of the book she had read. “Others say it’s the Jackal, attempting to chase away trespassers.”

“Can we turn around?” Tyler suddenly cried.

………………….

“Okay, here’s how this is going to work,” Jean said, folding her arms and looking at the group. They were pretty far into the woods. “I’ll stay here with the bus for the two days. Because this trip is in honor of Aaron’s birthday tomorrow, he will split you into two teams of five.”

“No question,” Aaron grinned. “The original five are with me. Catty, Steven, Ben and Tara.”

Tyler glowered as Tara skipped over and then turned to shrug at him.

“Guess that leaves Alaina, Tyler, Sara, Kish and Dominique for the second group,” Jean said, yanking Tyler back to stand next to Sara. “No buts, Tyler, you can spend time with your girlfriend at home.”

“But why do Dominique and Kish get to be on the same group?” Tyler muttered.

“We are NOT going out,” Dominique snarled, pulling out a lighter.

“No, Dominique, not here,” Jean said, taking the lighter out of her hand. “For the duration of your stay there will be no smoking or powering up unless it is absolutely necessary. That means life or death.”

“What?!” Dominique shouted. “I can’t go two days without a cigarette!”

“You can and you will,” Jean smiled.

Tyler and Aaron were still shouting at each other. “Oh, yeah? Well, we got the shape changer on our team,” Tyler said, putting an arm around Alaina. She whimpered in the discomfort of being used.

“We have a living box of matches, we don’t have to rub sticks together to start our fire,” Aaron retorted. Steven opened his mouth to object but thought better of it.

“Boys, would you like to get back in the bus?” Jean walked over to stand between them. “I could arrange an early trip home due to a couple of broken legs. Accidents happen, you know.”

Both boys shut up immediately, still glaring but not arguing.

………………..

“So, why are we camping for your birthday again?” Catty shouted from the front of the group. Due to her acrobatic skill, she was already far ahead of the others in the lower branches of the trees.

“My—ow!—dad used to take me camping for my birthday every year,” Aaron scraped his knee on a rock as he stumbled through the thick plants. “He said I had natural camouflage on my head.”

Ben pulled off his glasses and wiped them for the seventh time. “The bugs keep flying into my glasses,” He said. “They just don’t know any better, I guess. Like birds that fly into window panes.”

“Please, let’s not talk about birds right now,” Tara moaned woefully. “One pooped on me earlier and this is my favorite t-shirt. I hate the woods. I hate you, Aaron!!”

“Ah, no you don’t,” Aaron laughed. “One day, you’ll thank me for this little trip.”

“I doubt it,” Steven grumbled. “I already want a hamburger and it hasn’t even been two hours.”

“Hey, hey, I just got a great idea that’ll make this trip a lot more fun,” Aaron grinned wickedly. “What do you say we find out where the others are camping and play a little trick on them…”

………………………..

“Can we stop now?” Kish asked again, swatting another mosquito with his tail. He had been asking that question every ten minutes since they set out two hours ago.

“No,” Tyler called back. “Keep up, Kish, Dominique.”

Kish looked back at Dominique, who had fallen so far behind that she probably couldn’t hear them. Kish teleported next to her and grabbed her shoulder to stop her. “Hey,” he said as she tried to shrug him off. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” she growled.

“You don’t look fine.”

“I said I’m FINE,” she said again, pushing his hand off and struggling forward. “I can’t BELIEVE Mrs. Summers. No cigarettes for two days, I almost got back on the bus.”

“But you didn’t,” Kish said, following along behind her and swatting a bug before it landed on Dominique’s arm.

“I said I would go, so here I am,” She said bitterly. “But you really, really owe me, Kish Darkholme.”

“Does this start to scratch the surface?” He asked, leaping over a log to stand next to her. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lighter and a pack of cigarettes. “I just thought… I mean, as long as you can smoke a little less while we’re here…”

Dominique stared at him for a minute, and she slowly took the cigarettes and the lighter from his hands. “You actually thought to bring these?” She asked quietly, looking them over. “How did you know she was going to take them away from me?”

“Hey, I like you too much for you to go and kill yourself,” he smiled, repeating himself from the first day they had met almost four months ago. She grabbed his shoulders and very quickly kissed him on the cheek.

“And don’t think that’s going to happen again, you little baby,” she called to him as he stood frozen with a hand on his cheek. She laughed when she saw he was blushing furiously with wide eyes. Going back, she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along behind her. “Demure,” She smiled as he stuttered.

……………………….

“Okay, that should do it,” Aaron said, proud of his handiwork.

“A white sheet hanging from a tree?” Catty snorted. “You think that’s gunna scare Tyler?”

“No, but it’ll scare Kish half to death,” Aaron grinned and stepped back, hands on his hips and nodding. “Yeah, with how jumpy he is this should make him ‘port back to the bus.”

“That’s kind of mean,” Steven mumbled. “I mean, isn’t he an official member of the team now?”

“He said to me once that he wasn’t sure if he was cut out for this line of work,” Aaron turned around to face them. “If he goes home before the two days are up, that proves he isn’t. I’m not being mean, I’m trying to help him. If he toughens up and stays the whole two days, I’ll fully accept him with open arms.”

“It’s getting dark,” Ben whispered. “We should set up camp.”

………………..

And the second part of it...

Tyler looked up at the stars as he tried to fall asleep. He could hear Kish still poking at the fire on the other end of camp. When Kish finally settled into his sleeping bag, Tyler began to hear someone calling from the trees. He sat bolt upright and listened.

“Tyler…?” The voice said. “Tyler, where are you…?”

“Tara?” He called out, standing up. “Is that you?” He took a few steps toward the surrounding darkness.

“Tyler, help me… the bleeding won’t stop…”

“Tara?!” He grabbed a flashlight and ran toward the voice, turning on the light as he went. “Tara—Tara, where are you? Are you okay?”

“Tyler…” She moaned. “Tyler, here I am… help me…”

He entered a clearing and saw her lying in the moonlight, blonde hair spread on the ground and holding her hands over her stomach. “Tara…” He said softly as he knelt beside her. “Tara, let me see…”

She lifted her hands and blood poured out from a deep gash. “You’re too late,” She whispered. “You’ll always be too late. You were too late for your brother, and now you can’t save me.”

“How did you know about Carter?” Tyler’s eyes widened.

“He drowned in the lake when you were supposed to be watching him,” Tara said weakly. “You killed him, and you’re killing me…”

“Stop it!” Tyler stood. “You aren’t Tara, you can’t be her!”

“Watch me die,” Tara grinned. “Watch me die like you watched Carter die.” She closed her eyes. “Aaron wouldn’t have let me die.”

Tyler took a step back. “No, no. I don’t believe you… I don’t believe…”

……………………

Steven heard the fire from the pile of wood and thought it sounded too loud. He opened his eyes and felt the warmth on his face. His sleeping bag was on fire. He jumped up and screamed, looking around. All of the trees were ablaze, and the other sleeping bags were burning. “No, no,” He moaned. He took a step and realized he himself was a living flame, setting everything he got close to alight. He screamed as he saw Catty’s red hair burning brightly, turning around to see Ben standing behind him. “No, get away from me…” He shouted, reaching out instinctively to push him away. Ben’s shirt caught on fire and still the small boy did not move. He just stared up at him accusingly, as if he knew Steven was killing them all…

……………………………..

Sara sat up and realized she was on a couch with a blanket over her. She felt tears on her cheeks and she wiped them away. Getting up, she was startled to see her mother, rocking back and forth and knitting away in her little wooden chair. “Sara, honey,” She said with a smile. “I’m knitting you a hat for winter. It gets mighty cold in Bayville, you know.”

“Mommy?” Sara choked. “Mom, you’re dead, you’ve been dead for years…”

“I know, sweetie, but I decided to make a special guest appearance,” She stopped rocking and, putting down her knitting, she held out her arms. “Come here, sweetie. Come here and give your mother a big hug.”

Sara leaped up from the couch and bounded towards the chair. She seemed to be losing breath and she fell to her knees. Her mother only seemed to be getting farther away from her the more she ran. Getting up, she stumbled toward her, reaching out a hand. “Mom…?” She whispered as she saw her getting smaller. “Mom! Wait!”

“Come on, baby,” Her mother called. “Don’t you love me? Don’t you want to give me a hug?”

“I do, but I can’t reach you,” Sara cried. “Please, mom! Wait for me!”

“I am waiting for you, Sara,” Said the faint voice as she disappeared from view. “I’ve been waiting for years. Don’t you want to see me? Come closer, Sara… I can’t see you…”

“Mom, mom, wait,” Sara fell again and was sobbing uncontrollably. “Mom, come back, mom…”

……………………….

Aaron sat up in bed and yawned. He was rested, and he was ready for another wonderful day in the Williams household. Getting up, he stretched and groaned. His hair was a mess and that was okay. He had slept in his jeans and that was okay. He could do anything he wanted.

Stomping as loud as he could on the stairs, just to let everyone know he was awake, he found himself in the living room. In mid-yawn, he froze.

The beautiful furniture, the elegant curtains, the soft carpet were gone. The room was completely empty. Absolutely nothing was there. The richly decorated and normally spotless living room was coated in dust and not a single thing remained. He ran into the kitchen. This room was also empty, and also extremely dingy. The stairs were cold and hard, all of the carpets were gone. “Kaylee?” He called. “Ma? Dad?”

He peeked into his little sister’s room and found it entirely bare save one said teddy bear on the middle of the floor. He picked it up and hugged it. “Kay, sweetheart? Where are you?”

He burst into his parent’s room, expecting an explosion of noise and a “Happy Birthday” shout. The room was cold and heartless like every other place in the house. This was worse than the stories of getting a suitcase for your eighteenth birthday. Where WAS everybody?

Wandering back into the kitchen out of pure hunger, he walked slowly toward the only thing on the counter. It was a piece of paper, torn out of one of the journals he had gotten from his sister at Christmas.

We’re sorry, Aaron. We can’t do this. You’re just… different.

Aaron stared at the note and crumpled it into his fist. They had left, left to get away from him. He brought their name down. He was a disgrace to the family. He was not a part of it anymore.

“Aaron? Aaron, we are so sorry,” Tara said from behind him. He didn’t turn around, he didn’t want her to see the tears in his eyes. “Aaron? Can you look at us?”

“Dude?” Tyler said. “Hey man, really, we’re sorry.”

“But we have good news!” Tara sounded bubbly and cheerful. “You are so gunna, like, freak out. Me and Tyler…”

“We’re getting married, dude,” Tyler said happily.

“Isn’t that totally fantastic?”

Aaron clenched his fist so hard his nails dug into his skin. Tara and Tyler, Tyler and Tara, together forever, completely happy.

“Aaron?” Tara touched his shoulder. “Aren’t you happy for us?”

“Get AWAY from me!” He shouted, throwing a wind wall behind him. He heard a high-pitched squeal, too high-pitched for Tara… “Kaylee!” He cried, turning around. She slid to the ground, crumpled against the wall. He ran to kneel next to her. “Kay? Kaylee? Are you… Kay, I am so sorry.”

“I just wanted to wish you a happy birthday,” She whimpered.

“I didn’t… I didn’t know… why didn’t you tell me you were back there? Kaylee? Kaylee…?”

……………………………..

Alaina got up from her sleeping bag and looked around. Someone had called her. She had heard someone calling her. “Hello?” She called.

“Pretty kitty,” She heard from the shadows. She could see the outline of his wings in the moonlight. She ran to him and put her arms around him.

“Mike…” she whispered. “Mike, what are you doing here? Someone might see…”

“I had to see you,” He said, stroking her hair. “Alaina, I couldn’t stand not being with you. Are you okay?” He held her tightly as she shook. “You’re shivering.”

“I just have this awful feeling,” She said softly. “I think something terrible is going to happen to us. Something…” Her voice trailed away as he moved. “What’s wrong? What are you… hrk!”

He held the knife in her stomach as she looked up at him. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to,” He said. “Alaina, I am so sorry. I don’t want it to be like this.”

“Mike?” She whimpered in pain. “Mike…?”

…………………..

Catty stood in the room, empty except for the single bed in the center, covered by a white sheet. She took a step closer. Someone was under that blanket. Someone dead. She stepped closer, a chill jumping up her spine. She didn’t want to go closer but she couldn’t help it. Curiosity. What did her father say about curiosity? Stepping closer, she felt a need to know who had died. Closer, she stepped closer. She could almost reach the top of the sheet. Curiosity killed the cat. The Catty. She took the top of the sheet and pulled it away. Curiosity killed the Catty. Her father was dead.

……………………

Ben followed the Doctor through the streets as rain beat down. He knew who he was. The Doctor could tell Ben where he came from and who he was supposed to be. The Doctor always seemed to be a step further than him. When he ran, the Doctor shrank into the distance. So he walked.

………………….

Tara watched the front door of her house. This was a day she would never forget. The door opened and Lance stormed out, followed by her six-year-old self, carrying a suitcase for her father. He threw two into the trunk and took the one Tara held out for him. Everything was silent as her mother ran outside and grabbed his shirt, shouting words Tara couldn’t hear. The little girl struggled to open the passenger side door, believing that she was going with daddy. Lance got in the car, ignoring Kitty’s screams and little Tara’s attempts to open the door. He started the car and began to drive. Tara ran after the car, shrieking for him to wait. Kitty stood silent. The little girl stumbled and fell in the road, sobbing and calling her father, begging him to come back for her.

………………………….

Dominique walked into Kish’s room and her eyes widened as she saw the suitcase open on the bed, half-full of clothes. “Kish? Are.. are you going somewhere?” She asked unsteadily as he angrily threw a notebook into the suitcase. It was labeled ‘songs’.

“I’m leaving,” He said quietly. “They don’t want me here. I belong with my friends at the Brotherhood house.”

“But, aren’t I your friend?”

“No,” Kish scoffed. “No way, not the way you treat me. Like I need someone ELSE pushing me around. I don’t want to be used by you anymore. How many shirts have I bought you? How many hours have I wasted listening to you whine about being abandoned? Grow up, Dom. Accept the fact that no one likes you and move on, okay? We’re all getting a little tired of your bullshit.”

He shoved Dominique out of the way as he left. She made her way to the bed and sat down, numb as she sobbed.

……………………

“Father?” Kish said softly. “Are you going to hurt me?”

“No, Aquarius,” He smiled darkly. “I have a much better way for you to see the right path. Something much more… creative.” He pulled Dominique out of the shadows by her hair as he laughed. “How about I heart this girl instead? Honestly, I thought you had better taste.”

“No,” Kish moaned, tasting blood on his tongue. “No, not her…”

“Yes, her,” Magneto threw her limp body into a tree. “How does that feel, Aquarius? How does that FEEL?” He kicked her as she struggled in the dirt, her wild hair dragging in the mud. “Do you enjoy this more?”

“No!” Kish ran forward and grabbed his arm. “No, leave her alone!”

“Would you rather I hurt you?” He said calmly as he shoved Kish away. Kish landed on his hands and knees, the pain in his side growing to the point of agony.

“Dom…” he whispered. “Don’t hurt her… please, no, nonono…”

…………………..

The bus rocked gently as they started the journey home. Jean turned and smiled at the miserable looking group. “How was… oh. That bad, huh?”

The kids all started talking at once, and all about a horrible dream they had. Looking around at each other, they all started telling their dreams. Ben knew that Magneto and probably Mastermind were behind it and he said as much. Kish and Dominique, in the back of the bus and keeping in each other’s sight, remained silent. When it was Dominique’s turn to share, a dark glare made them turn to Kish. “What did you dream about, Kish?” Alaina asked, who had also avoided talking about hers.

Kish looked up from his notebook. “What? Nothing. I just… slept.”

AWESOME.

Thank you.

No problem, baby ^^