Shandra sighed as she slowly walked through the small isle. Finding what she wanted was rather annoying since she had to have it just so perfect. Although looking for things in regular department stores that didn't specialize in just that item was probably why she couldn't find her size in the style she needed.
'How hard is it to find something that would go with the dress?...oh god...I just thought that...okay...I'm getting out of here now...'
Shandra's frown didn't leave as she started to the front of the store. It was late and the place was almost closing down so it was about time she headed off. Besides the teachers that were supposed to be in charge of curfew hours might figure out she'd left right before curfew, knowing that she wouldn't be back in time.
She looked around as she watched a few guys start to go to the front doors were she was too. There was just something in their eyes and the way they kept smirking to each other that she didn't like.
And then she figured out why...they had guns but they were trying to be discreet about it at the moment. Although she had no idea how long that was going to last.
Brian sat down at a nearby table in the food court, sipping away on his bubble tea drink. He'd ran to the mall just to get out of the house tonight and figured, if he gets locked out he could always make one of the locks frictionless and slide right in. Things were just starting to get weird around the mansion as well as with his powers. Lately he's just been discharging electricity like crazy. At first he thought it was tribology doing it's work but it was something far more electrifying.
He grabbed the chopsticks, opting for something a lot less conductive, as he saw Shandra leaving from one of the clothing stores right across from him. He could see the annoyed look on her face and all at once he knew, she didn't find what she wanted. He ate his food in a rush and got up quickly. He saw the look in her eyes change slightly and thought, "Oh holy crap, she's gonna kill those guys. I'd better get over there."
He got up rather quickly, finishing off his dish and bringing his tea with him. He walked rather fast, not relying on his powers this time to slide right over there. He called out to her with a smile on his face, "Hey Shandra!! You skipping out on curfew too?"
Shandra nodded to Brian and sighed. "I hate being told when I can go shopping...and when I have to stay in my room..."
That actually was how she'd found out about second little ability. After all, her parents had been gone...she'd been pissed at them for neglecting her and she'd gone out to shop with her friend knowing that she wouldn't be back before dark. So what if she knew that her eyes tended to shine in the dark? It really hadn't seemed to make an impact too great on her mind at the time. And it still didn't now. Besides, that's what sunglasses were for.
"But you know what else I don't like right now?" She said as she moved passed one of the guys with a gun. "I really don't like guns..."
Brian moved up to meet her with an inquisitive look on his face. "Gun?", he thought. He didn't know what she meant but knowing her it wasn't meant as much of a joke.
"Guns huh?", he said as he stepped right beside her. "Well...I don't like tofu.", said Brian in a joking manner. He could tell from her attitude that she was serious but he joked to mask his awareness. He peeked back over his shoulder and saw a group of guys with cocky looks on their faces. He turned back around and smiled, saying to Shandra, "Well it's nothing we can't handle, right?"
Shandra nodded with a frown as she tried to keep back a smirk. And that's when it happened. The iron bars slammed shut on the front entrance and a few smaller shots sounded off. A lot of the people around her jumped but she merely crossed her arms.
How had she known that something bad was going to happen? And why was it every time she went out shopping without sunglasses people always decided it was a good time to be idiots?
She heard a laugh and she turned to face the two guys she had just passed a minute ago. They seemed to be quiet pleased with themselves and their guns were brandished for everyone to see.
"Just...great..."
And then she heard some cheesy line about how they were going to hold everyone until they got what they wanted. Of course they didn't actually tell everyone what they wanted but it was rather obvious what they aspired to be when they grew up -terrorists.
Too bad they failed horribly when it came to Shandra.
She had about as much to fear from them as she did a slippery tub.
Brian only smiled as he heard the gates crashing and the guns sounding. He would have an excuse now as to why he was late getting back, he could even say he'd been here for hours. He took off his glasses and cleaned them off a bit before putting them back on and pushing on the bridge of his glasses, pressing them closer to his face.
He smiled, trying his best to hold back his laughter as he turned to Shandra saying, "So...which ones do you want?" It had gotten to the point where he had to put his hand over his mouth to hold back his laughter, something that drew the attention of the two guys behind them. They shuffled over to Brian and Shandra with cocky looks on their faces, something Brian returned to them with laughter included. In a jockish way one of the said, "What are you laughing at?"
Shandra smiled at his question slightly as she tried to stop herself from laughing. One would think that they were bloodthirsty killers out for their next fix rather than teenagers with how that had been asked. Of course they were supposed to be these "superhero" mutants because that's what they'd been training for.
And besides all that...even if things did get out of hand...humans were still a lot easier to handle than giant frigging snakes. She really hadn't liked that episode when it had happened and she liked it less when she thought back on it.
"How about the one that just asked you what you're laughing at?" Shandra asked as though the man wasn't right by them.
She took a calm, deep breath as she locked eyes with him. The man was taller than her but that wasn't all that surprising. And while she was slightly taller than the average lady, standing at five feet and eight inches, guys usually ended up being the taller of the two genders. Besides height really didn't matter too much -it was all how in tune with their body a person was and Shandra had a lot of time to get used to hers. So much that bullets just so happened to be terrified to trying to match her.
And guys who tried to throw punches? Well they'd find their own fist in their face if they were unlucky enough.
"Hey, Brian...how much goading do you think it would take before they tried to shoot me?"
And to everyone else besides him that probably sounded like she had a death wish.
Brian let out a chuckle as Shandra asked him the question of how much it would take for them to shoot her. He was now laughing right out as he answered her with, "Well, seeing as how they probably don't even know what goading means i'd say maybe one or even two more should do it. But they've gotta be big ones, like talking about their mother's big."
They both sound like crazy death seeking fools but they were hero's. Stuff like this kinda always seemed to happen and after facing trolls and dragons fighting robbers just seemed like a giant joke, sorta like having us clean the mansion with our toothbrushes and then telling us we had to do the dogs house.
In his laughter Brian was looking around for stuff he could use. He'd already formulated a plan within a few seconds, he was good that way, or at least he'd gotten good that way at the academy.
"Hmm...okay, let's try this then..." Shandra thought with a smirk as she walked right up to the guy and stood on her toes.
Something about the whole day had just set her off and now these poor robbers were going to get it. Maybe she had woken up on the wrong side of the bed or maybe the lack of chocolate in her diet for the past few years and finally caught up to her once again. But whatever it was it made her a bit more daring as well.
After all, who would guess that Shandra would be standing face to face with a guy holding a gun.
And her eyes narrowed when she realized that he seemed to like that fact. After a moment she rolled her eyes and simply, in a quick movement, brought her knee up. She arched her back and moved herself into a back handspring till she righted herself back up and looked to Brian with a smirk.
She laughed. "And for the topping... these guys are so dumb they just let me kick them where they used to have their mothers touch them."
Oh, oh so crude for her. But what could she say? These guys just added fuel to the fire that had been itching for a release for a while.
'Hmm...that really was kind of mean...' but then she smiled and laughed as she watched that one guy continue to wither in pain as his friends came to see what happened. 'but it was kind of fun...'
Brian burst into a raucous laughter as he watched Shandra make this guy sterile. Oh boy, what a knee it was. The guys lay there on the ground, writhing in agony as Shandra smirked. It was brutal and hilarious at the same time. He couldn't help but to applaud her.
"I think that may have been just the right amount.", he said as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He saw the guys partner run over to him and start to make a fuss. "Oh I think you're about to get your wish.", said Brian as he heard the guy on the ground scream 'Waste her!!' The kick heard round the mall was just enough for that guy to get to his feet and point his gun at Shandra. He pulled the trigger with an intent to kill.
Shandra threw her arms up in the air, "Finally!"
And it came so quickly but she'd already been waiting for it. Of course as soon as it bounced, she really didn't care where to, she looked somewhat nervously to Brian. She might not care if she got a bullet aimed towards her and she knew it.
But she was fairly sure he didn't want to get shot.
'And if they open fire...and I block it all...he probably would get shot. Oops, should have thought this through a bit more,' Shandra thought with a guilty look on her face.
Brian laughed as Shandra screamed out. He watched as the bullet bounced off of her and hit a wall near them. He snorted as the look on the robbers faces went from anger to shock. Brian looked over to Shandra who'd just realized what she'd done. Brian smiled turning to her and saying in a bad English accent, "Relax love, i'll be fine. I've learned a few things at the school."
His eyes began to glow deep red as he extended a field of high friction around them both in the shape of a dome. The air looked slightly distorted but still clearly able to see through. "They're mutants!!", screamed the guy on the floor as he and his partner opened fire on Shandra and Brian. The bullets hit the dome and slowly drifted through, slow enough for a great grandmother with Alzheimer's and arthritis to start to walk, forget about it, and start to walk again.
Shandra smiled lightly at the new trick that Brian had learned. That had to be very useful at time. She wondered how it would effect people if they got got in there but shrugged it off. She moved a bit closer to him so she didn't have to worry too much about directing a bullet at him or anything else for that matter.
"If there is anyone who's not part of this shooting...I suggest you move and move quick!" Shandra called out just in case there was any person who just had come there to shop.
She heard some rushing of feet but she didn't know how much. After all that could have just been because of the fact they got out of their stupors and decided to run. Was sound slowed down when it tried to pass his shield? After all friction was just another form of resistance and the more resistance something had against it the slower, or shorter it could travel -even sound.
"Hey, mind getting back to back so we can get this done with?"
'Hmm...are those sirens?...probably...crap. Yep, lets get this done with. Oh, more crappy crap...security cameras...my face might not like showing up but how many people have my general hair color and deflect bullets...?' Shandra thought with a frown.
"We're going to be in so much trouble..."
Brian shot her a corny wink and a thumbs up as she smiled to him. This must've been the first time he used that outside of the danger room and everything functioned perfectly. He looked over to see Shandra crying out to the innocent people in the mall and slowly began to drop the friction. He feared her words were coming out of the shield like some twisted mush of sound. The shield slowed down anything and everything that came through it's path, reducing a moving human to a snail and a bullet to a pebble thrown by a child.
Brian let her take the lead, standing back to back with her and projecting a shield in front of himself in a half dome shape. "So, how are we gonna do this?", he said as he began to reach into his back pocket. He pulled out a few triangle shaped throwing knives, courtesy of Forge. A couple months of training had made him a deadly shot with glasses on and off.
As the shield was lowered her suspicions were confirmed. Those definitely were cop cars outside and people kept trying to shoot at her as she listened. Really, when would people learn? As long as she was expecting to get hit and didn't want to be she wouldn't. And she expected to be targeted quite a bit in a situation with guns. Maybe if one had just suddenly slugged her cold in the face they'd actually land a blow when she didn't see them...but no, they had to go and use guns. She almost felt sorry for these guys.
"Well..." Shandra said edgily, the affect of anger having started to wear off after the guys tried the open season tactic with them, "my idea was...kind of like the ripple effect. No...I guess a bomb might explain it better. Imagine me being the target point...and everything else is on the ring of the explosion."
She was fairly sure that was an okay analogy. After all just by the force alone people were blown away by bombs if they didn't actually get hit themselves but she still liked the ripple one better. Even if it didn't exactly fit in this situation.
She looked out to the people, her eyes completely black without a sign that there had been any other color before, as she prepared for the massive move. A few blocks of things here and there never turned her eyes black but the more she had to block for longer amounts of time, the darker her eyes seemed to get until it suddenly just turned everything pitch black. It was actually kind of freaky to see on that special camera that forge had made so she could actually get group pictures.
"Ready? I just need you to hold onto me and keep yourself safely there since I can't exactly control it perfectly..."
Brian stood with his back to Shandra, grabbing onto her arm as he increased the friction around his body. It felt rather weird, doing it to himself for the first time. It was like moving in slow motion...really slow motion.
He held on tight as Shandra's eyes grew blacker and blacker. He felt himself being drawn in but at a speed he didn't need to worry about as he increased the friction more and more around himself. It started to get harder to breath as Shandra blocked out everything around herself but Brian held on.
Slowly she counted down. Waiting until all of them men had gathered. Most of them had already been there, she was pretty sure that there was only one guy that joined them. But at least they had given up their guns, some of them at least. That was a smarter thing considering what she was about to do.
A wicked grin broke out on her face when she felt Brian secure himself to her. Now the plan could go over. It would be fun watching the blast of flying bodies. She hadn't actually got to see someone fly too often.
And as she let out a deep breath a pulse strummed in her body and continued outwards in a large push. While Brian nor anyone else would be able to see it, Shandra could. The yellow wave, bright as light, pushed out in a circle.
Shandra watched was all the people in the area were either thrown through windows, doors, or pressed into walls. It didn't matter if there were metal guards on the windows and doors the people still were forced through them and outside where the cops had the building surrounded.
Taking a deep breath Shandra let out a throaty laugh. She was right. That had been fun to watch.
"So..." she said slowly as she took in another deep breath to try and help the raw feeling of her skin, "lets get out of here before the cops try to get us...yes?"
Brian let go and dropped his friction suddenly, causing him to stumble over a bit. He started coffing as a sudden rush of air filled his lungs. That was a weird feeling, that sudden rush of air.
He stood upright, adjusting himself and scratching his head. "Yeah you're right. Let's get out of here, I don't think I can play civilian since joining the Academy.", said Brian as he brushed off his clothing. He turned to start out the door, opting to take the emergency exit. He jogged over to the door, signaling to Shandra for him to follow.
He went to touch the door and felt a sudden surge of electricity as he reached for the handle. He looked down in time to see an arc of lighting connect from his hand to the handle. He yanked his hand back with a look of worry and confusion on his face as he said, "Um...how about you get the door...ehehe"
Shandra looked at him curiously but she nodded. If his powers were flaring up than he probably wouldn't exactly want metal around him. Although why his powers were getting a tiny bit out of control now is still a mystery. But despite that she opened the door and held it out for him with a faux bow.
"So where to?" she asked in a hushed voice. "Back to the institute...or somewhere else?"
Brian jumped through the door way, trying his best not to touch the door knob. He returned Shandra's bow with a curtsy saying, "Well let's see...the mall was just robbed. We could always use that as an excuse for why we were late returning. Why don't we go and see what the town's like after curfew."
He smiled a mischievous smile as he jumped onto a park bench and extended his hand. Once again he felt a slight spike and from across the mall courtyard flew a metal napkin dispenser. Brian looked in time to see it and duck but as he ducked confusion just ran through his mind. "Why does this keep happening?" he thought as he regained his composure and reached out to Shandra.
"You know..." Shandra said in a drawl as she watched the little display, "its sometimes easier to control impulsive powers if you keep yourself relaxed. I don't know if it would work for you but the less I think about it the less likely it is to happen."
That was true, usually. Unless someone upset her to the point that she couldn't keep composure. Then people just ended up in the hospital. Of course that hadn't happened in a long time. But she was sort of at risk for that now, with her actually having friends again. What if they decided they didn't like her anymore because of something she did? What if they found out something that she'd kept from them and they ended up hating her for it? She couldn't put any of those ideas down as ridiculous...after all they happened before.
"Hmm...food sound good to you?"
She bit the inside of her gum when she said that because she knew that no matter what his answer was she wouldn't eat. What was the point of eating fast food or processed food if she threw it right back up later anyways? She hated tasting vomit, she really did, and it was a great deterrent from having a normal teenage diet.
Brian straightened up, scratching his chin as he said, "Well I don't know..." He dropped to a seating position on the bench saying, "Promise you won't tell anyone k? Lately my powers have...well...they've been a bit....Magneto-ie. But I didn't want to tell anyone!! I just think...what if they start to look at me differently cause I can do the stuff their greatest enemy can? Will they...will they abandon me?"
He looked up to the night sky, or at least what could be seen of it in the city. He sighed, saying to Shandra as he looked up, "You know, everything's much clearer at the Academy." He said this, commenting about the sky and life before saying, I really don't want to leave."
He sighed a deep sigh before jumping to his feet and saying with a smile, "Well food sounds great, though i've been thinking of going vegan. You think they got any places like that around here?"
Shandra shrugged as they continued to walk. "Don't know...I really don't come to town often enough to know. Probably...you could always try sushi."
She smiled teasingly as she thought about it. Sushi was a less processed food so maybe that was safe for her to eat. She'd tried it once, a long time ago, but she couldn't remember. The one she did like was a spicy tuna one...with sticky rice and a few other ingredients. Maybe if she wanted to research it later she could figure out if that might make the cut. It was worth a shot.
"And I don't think Magneto is the only mutant out there with those powers...he's probably just the most well known. I mean...polarity is a type of magnetism right? I have a feeling that I just project the polar opposite energy of everything to create that push effect. Besides...having a Mini-Magneto in the school might be fun."
"Sushi sounds awesome.", he said as he walked with Shandra. The more they talked about food the more he was growing hungry. He relished the thought of chowing down on an all you can eat sushi buffet.
"Yeah I guess you're right but...I hope they don't put me on the Hellions...no offense.", said Brian as they reached the promenade of the mall. There were stores upon stores, something he didn't think would look so beautiful lit up under the nights sky. "Hmm...I guess I can go to Polaris, she'd know more about it than me.", said Brian.
"Hmm...okay," the redheaded girl responded.
Her eyes caught a picture and some hiragana on the sign. It read sushi. Well...Osushi but that was the same thing. It looked like a decent place too and it was in a better part of town. Although she knew that sushi could be expensive it was worth a shot. If she could have another food group to add to the "good" list than it was worth it.
Besides she was fairly sure her parents wouldn't mind...they were still the ones funding the bank card she had anyways. That was one good thing they continued to do for her while she was trying to work out a life for her. It sometimes reminded her that they still cared. Or at least they felt obligated to care for her.
"That's a Sushi restaurant," Shandra pointed out.
"Oh cool.", said Brian as he walked to the door. He calmed down a bit, taking Shandra's advice before opening the door and saying, "After you." He signaled to her to enter as he peered into the door.
He felt a slight twinge run through his body as he entered behind her. There was something....different in the room, yet the same. "There they are, right on time.", said the voice of a man who sat at the counter next to a woman.
Shandra blinked heavily in confusion at the person who had spoken out from their bar like seat. They sat next to a woman who was dressed in all black and had her hair hidden away under a decent hat. There was something way to familiar about the two of them.
And as the girl turned so she could see her face she figured out why. It was her. She, although she looked slightly older but not by much, sat there with a pleasant grin on her face. But Shandra still didn't want to believe what she was seeing was really all that real.
'This is so twisted...'
She didn't bother to look away even as the other-her got up. Shandra, the teenage one, didn't move as her slightly older duplicate stopped in front of them with her wait balanced more on one side than the other and one of her hands on her hips.
"And just so we don't get confused, I'll go by Eclipse so you can keep Shandra."
Shandra frowned, "No fair..."
"I've earned the name a little more now than I did in the past I think."
Shandra looked to the person she had walked in with, a beseeching look on her face. She needed an explanation for why there was a more mature doppelganger in front of her. Or at least confirmation that there was in deed a duplicate standing before her.
Brian stopped where he stood as he looked at Shandra, then her duplicate, then Shandra, then her duplicate, and back to Shandra. He started to stammer in confusion saying, "Y-y-yyyour her....and....and she's...you...and you're she....and...and...and..."
"Geez, have I always been like this?", said the voice of the man sitting at the counter. He rose from where he sat and joined the trio in their confusion. "No need to be so flabbergasted. You can call me Magnate so your/ my brain doesn't go pop.", said the man as he smirked.
"This is just...too weird. I mean the dragon was weird, the trolls were weird, but this is just...weird.", said Brian as he turned to Shandra for some agreement. He was looking at an actual factual future version of himself and he only had one question, "What the hell is going on?"
But before he could finish his sentence there was an explosion behind them, taking out the right wall of the bar and a few of the patrons. The group shielded themselves as a bright flashing light glow eerily from the hole. From within in the light walked a woman, brandishing a gun and an eye patch. She put on a pair of leather gloves, pulled her red hair back leaving her white bangs hanging on her forehead. With a stern look on her face she said, "Kill them."
Shandra's mouth went a little lax and her eyes widened as she looked over at the person. Again they looked highly familiar but there was something much different about her at the same time. Almost as though the years had been harder on her than the other two...thems. Oh that was so weird to think about. And the fact that "thems" wasn't even an English word had crossed her mind before she dismissed it.
"Awe, Evelyn...you came to see us," Eclipse said with a smirk on her face. "And you brought guns...how nice."
Shandra watched in her stupor as a the older her lifted up her arm and waved her hand. The same yellow energy that she herself used went out like a targeting wave and knocked the gun out of "Evelyn's" hands.
"Umm...Brian...?" Shandra asked slowly, just because she was a little more than shocked at the display and felt she needed to say something at the very least.
Brian's jaw dropped as he saw the woman he believed to be Evie call out for his death. That couldn't of been the same leader he had just seen a few minutes ago. She no longer had that smile and bright attitude he knew her for. She was dark, darker than he believed she would ever be able to go. His eyes widened more as he saw 'Eclipse' cause the gun to fly from the hands of the enemy.
"Aww, you come to us with a declaration of death and we didn't get you anything. How rude of me.", said 'Magnate. He swipped his hand through the air and the gun that lay on the ground began to shrink and contort before expanding and taking the form of a smiley face necklace. 'Magnate' then mentally control the necklace and placed it around her neck. She didn't even flinch, no fear of death or strangulation.
"Ever the hard a** I see. Not even flinching when I place metal around your neck.", said Magnate with a smile on his face. Evie looked at him with a stern look on his face saying, "If I believed you were going to kill me just now I would've taken out your heart before it's next beat...like this." With her last word she appeared behind all of them, shocking Brian to no avail. She was fast, faster than he'd ever seen her move.
Shandra's breath caught in her throat as she felt someone behind her. For some reason she couldn't concentrate long enough to actually calm herself down. This was just way too much to take in at one time and she didn't know if she wanted to. Her future self, had to be that was the only logical reason she could grasp, was on bad terms with someone from another team? Alright, well that didn't sound too unlike what was bound to happen sooner or later but to this degree...it just seemed a little unreal.
And then something happened...and Evie's hand was burnt looking on one area. Shandra's eyes looked around wildly for who could have done it until she caught sight of a little girl...
"Leave them alone you big meanie!"
"Wow..." was the only words Shandra could seem to get out of her mouth.
The girl was undeniably cute even with her finger up like a gun. Actually that just made the scene cuter. Her dark eyes were framed by orange-red spiral curls and soft, childlike pale skin. And there was something so familiar about the little girl too.
'Hmm...' Shandra thought with a smile, 'kind of looks like me when I was a...oh hell no...'
"W-what?!", said Brian as Evie appeared behind them. All at once he felt fear and regret before he saw Evie jump back. The cause of this was a mutant, a small mutant, a small and cute mutant. Brian looked at Shandra, then Eclipse, then the kid and said, "Holy crap, you have a kid?!"
He turned around to face Evie but couldn't keep his mind off of the fact that Shandra's got a little one. "Ok, once again. What the hell is going on?", said Brian as his frustration of why his team leader is trying to kill him spilled over.
"Well....that's kinda complicated...", said Magnate as he looked away from his younger self. Brian looked into...well...his eyes and said in an authoritative, "Try me!" Magnate stepped back and took a deep breath saying, "Well...long story short is a lot of us Academy students went rogue during the last return of apocalypse and his partnership with Magneto. They weren't the problem but a lot of the mutants at school so things their way and so...they were formed. The MA, Mutandis Aurativi.--"
He stopped as future Evie interrupted saying, "And now we've come back to eliminate these minor threats while they're nothing."
Both at once Brian and Magnate said, "Ouch, harsh." Brian looked over to Shandra who was in a daze at this discovery. He took a deep breath and said, "Ok, so...we're both like having a simultaneous stroke and hallucinating right?"
Shandra nodded. "I really...really hope so..."
She went to sit over in a booth and brought her feet up. She wasn't moving from her spot. Nope, not her. She was just going to sit there until everything turned right-side up again. Her...with a kid? Never mind the fact that it could be many years later. Still, she never really wanted a kid. Alright, so maybe a kid but she'd have to skip that whole baby stage where they were completely dependent on her.
And for some reason the fact that someone had come back to kill them while they were still "nothing" didn't seem as monuments as the fact that she'd actually...had...a...kid. It was to the point that she just wanted to start laughing hysterically.
Although the kid was really cute...and she always had wanted to spoil them...but she just wasn't cut out for motherhood responsibilities. Besides...all that pain for something she might not even like didn't seem right to her at all.
'Safe...happy...no kid zone...safe...happy...no kid zone...' Shandra thought as she made sure to concentrate on the fact that things were just going to stay away from her.
Especially guys.
"This is just too surreal.", said Brian as he followed Shandra to a nearby booth. He didn't want to believe anything that was going on but he didn't have much of a choice. He had actually grown to believe that this type of stuff came with role of being a mutant. He start to laugh hysterically at the whole thing, it was far beyond strange now.
"Hmm...enough of this. I'm glad to see you can laugh just before your death!!", said Evie as she pulled a clear gun from her waist belt.
"Plastic guns?!", said Magnate as he grabbed the kid and rushed to Shandra and Brian's side shouting, "Eclipse!! Take care of the guns, i'll get the kids out of here!!"
He said all of this so quickly and moved so quickly Brian didn't even have time to noticed he was being grabbed. Magnate focused, removing the bonds between their atoms and the atoms of the floor. They all dropped through the floor, Magnate holding onto the little girl. He left the atoms of the floor dispersed as he awaited Shandra to drop. "Stay alert you two...I mean three.", said Magnate as the little girl tugged at his shirt.
"Can...can we just go back home now?" Shandra asked in a small voice as she looked around where they were.
The sewers had a particularly nasty smell. Sweet like the scent of garbage that sat in a summer's sun, and paginate like someone who'd never had a shower before. She took back the fact that she thought the dragon of Honeycut had the worst smelling place. This topped that.
The little girl looked up, smiling that sweet little smile that kids had when they wanted something. "Are you my sister? You look exactly like Mommy!"
Shandra groaned and looked up. Perhaps it would just be easier to be back up in the fight. After all...in a fight she couldn't fall in love with a little girl that she never actually wanted.
'I feel so dizzy and this situation is so not right...'
Without waiting for anyone else she started off to find a way to get out of the sewers. She really needed to figure out what she was going to do.
'Become a nun...yeah...' was the first insane idea that popped into her head. 'With...a big training room so I can figure out how to use my powers while I'm sleeping and not get shot then...'
"Yep, sounds good..." she mumbled aloud.
Brian walked alongside Shandra. He could see the confusion in her face and turned to ask her, "Ok...so this must be extremely weird to you right now. How do you propose we get out of this nightmare and wake up?"
From behind them Magnate called out saying "Hey you two, don't get too far." Just as he had finished talking from the ceiling dropped Eclipse with a satisfied look on her face. Magnate smiled as he asked, "Oh what'd you do to her? Something awesome I hope."
Brian began to pick up speed as he contemplated asking his future self exactly what he had just did with his powers but he felt it could wait until they got out of stinkville.
"Hmm...just a little," Shandra agreed dryly. "Strange thing...I'm more freaked about the kid than the fact someone tried to kill me. Is that wrong?"
She swallowed dryly as she looked back to the three from the future. If they really were from the future than something must have gotten so messed up sometime soon. Why would Evie be after them? And why just the two of them? Also...how was it that a little tiny girl had mutant powers? Didn't most come during puberty or something like that?
'Then again...a lot of teachers marked me down as absent many times before I figured it out...'
"Hmm...let's just say that she thinks she's five years old again," Eclipse said with a smirk as she looked down to her little girl. "So how do you like past-me?"
"Past you?" the little girl asked with confusion. "You mean her?...She's quiet."
"Oh that was a good one. Did she wet herself?", asked Magnate with a smile on his face. Both him and Eclipse seemed at home in their own element but their present selves couldn't of been more out of whack.
Brian stopped suddenly, turning to the future and saying, "Ok, that's enough. What exactly is going on and give me the long version." He stood with his hands on his hips and a determined look in his eyes as he launched this question as the future mutants.
Magnate sighed a deep sigh as he said, "Well...i supposed you're wondering exactly why Evie's out to kill us, right? I mean, she's definitely not the type of person who would switch sides like that. The direct answer is that Apocalypse, he captured Earth's greatest psychics and hit everyone with the big whammy and well...'changed there minds.' If it wasn't for my natural electromagnetic field and Eclipse's powers we would've been affected too."
"So why exactly come back here tonight unless....this couldn't be the night those psychics disappeared could it? Why not just go straight to the mansion and prevent this from happening?", said Brian with a confused look on his face.
"It's simple really, we're not the only ones who came back from the future and we're not exactly sure who's with us or against us...well aside from Evie of course. Me and red here were together at the time of the big change. Since then i've relied on no one but her and mini red. The thing is; if our enemies seek out our past selves, you guys, that means we'll cease to exist.", said Magnate.
"Well...that might not happen. I mean if you come back then you must be in another reality since...well time always happens the same way. At least that's what I remember reading. So unless this happened to you when you were...us -this doesn't sound right at all- then...this is another reality from yours. So our this-reality-future-selves might not exist...but you still might," Shandra said without blinking and then realized what she said.
"That was a good book," Eclipse said with a thoughtful look. "But as there's no one to prove or disprove either theory...better safe than sorry. And just so we all know what's happened, well so me and Bri--Magnate knows at least, what was the last few things that have happened to you both?"
"Umm...we just stopped a mall take-over?" Shandra offered up as she tried to think of anything else important. "And about a...month -or was it three?- we got back from this placed called Honeycut..."
Eclipse shifted on her feet as she nodded. She held her elbows with the opposite arm as she took a moment to think about the situation. Still she couldn't help but smile. Honeycut...that placed seemed so long ago to her.
"Never did like following orders after that for a while..."
"Mommy...was this before M--" She was cut off with a hand in front of her mouth. She pouted when it was removed. "Aw...but those stories are so much fun...why can't they know?"
"Woah.", said Brian as he listened to Shandra's explanation. He felt kinda sad that he understood all of that without being lost once. "Geez, what have I been doing with my life that I could understand that?", he said as he scratched his head. "So what's the plan then?", said Brian as he shifted his weight to one foot and stood tall.
"Well...we don't know. This is kind of a run and gun type of thing we've got going. We only got here just a bit before you two strolled in, that's why need to know what's happened recently...in your time. I think it would be best for us to find someway to get to the mansion and find the Xavier Protocols."
"The what's?", said Brian. This was probably the first time he'd heard of Xavier outside of whispers and rumors. He definitely didn't know what these protocols were or how they would help but future him did have a few years of power control under his belt so in the least he wasn't going to die while with him.
"The Xavier Protocols. They're a list of X-men and how to kill them. The original was lost this night and that may be the only way for us to win. I believe there might be a section on the villains of the x-men. This may be our only hope.", said Magnate with a serious look on his face.
"Alright...so...where do we go from here then?" Shandra asked as she looked at the other three, four if she counted the little girl. "Should we head back the Institute...or come with the two of you?"
It was a very valid question in her mind. From what she had seen then not only would they slow down their future selves but be a liability for them too. After all if the future Evie can move quicker than she could grasp then she wasn't going to be all that good to them. And who knows what other mutants could come back?
"Leaving you with them might work...but then again it might not. The old saying is Keep your friends close but your enemies closer. Well I think it be more fitting to say keep your friends close and your enemies closer but never leave yourself behind. So in that spirit I don't want to risk my own life in the hands of people who can be turned against me."
"Agreed, we leave you at the institute there's a high chance the others' future selves could take out the whole institute. I think our first step will be to find out exactly who or what came back through the time stream. Once we know that we should be able to slip in, get the protocols, and slip out. Once we've got them they'll follow us into the time stream in hopes of stopping us.", said Magnate as he began to lead the others through the tunnels.
"So where exactly are we supposed to--", said Brian as he was interrupted by a scrapping sound coming from down the tunnel in front of them. The scrapping noise got louder and louder as they all stood silently. The air was growing very still as Brian tried his best not to move an inch. The scrapping noise got louder and louder; faster and faster till the sight of the source was upon them. Brian's lip quivered as he said, "G-ggideon?!"
The man stood there, claws low to the ground. He snarled, acting more feral than Brian had ever seen him. This was Gideon but what he was doing there was unknown.
"Gideon? What are you--", said Brian as he stopped suddenly when Gideon charged for them.
“Oh no...Eclipse!! Take out his senses! I'll hold him back so we can get out of here!!", said Magnate as he threw his hand before him. He forced Gideon back to the wall, awaiting Eclipse to take him out.
All at once everything was moving too fast as Brian grabbed Shandra and the kid and started running. He removed the friction on the ground around them, although slightly discharging electricity into the ground as his nerves were getting the best of him. "What the hell is going on?! My roommate is trying to kill us!!!", said Brian as he skated across the ground, pulling both Shandra and the kid behind him. He didn't know what to do or where to go but he knew he had to get away from there.
But suddenly from the wall before them came Gideon crashing through with a monstrous force that sent chunks of the wall flying to the other side of the tunnel. He leaped to attack the three as Brian screamed, "Shandra, a little help!!"
All too fast. It happened so quickly that she barely had time to even realize what had happened. And when she did a ravaging Gideon was heading towards them. There was something wrong about him, something twisted. And her hands flew up to protect herself subconsciously even though she somewhat knew he wouldn't touch them.
Luckily he had headed right for her and she was able to push him back. But there was so much will and so much strength in a raving, mad animal and he seemed no different. Whatever had happened to the people she had begun to get to know must have been more than drastic. That or they weren't being told the whole story...
"Stop..." Shandra said thickly.
She heard him growl, the sound so feral that she could almost picture him as an animal. The little girl shook beside her and Shandra looked down. She really hated it when people made kids afraid. Not like the world wasn't going to be scary enough for her later but now she had a fellow mutant out to tear people up before her eyes.
'Poor kid...' Shandra thought with a frown.
And she could see him moving as he readied himself for a pounce.
"Woah...down boy..." Shandra said dryly.
But he didn't seem to get the joke in her words and the next time he jumped at them she was prepared. The force of his jump met the pushing force that sprung out of her as though she had cracked. He twisted and turned way up in the air but as he fell down she could see that no major damage had been done. Especially since he'd almost landed in a perfect crouch.
"Where's a cliff when you need one?"
"Back in Honeycut.", said Brian as he moved to the foreground. He began to increase the friction around Gideon and before him more and more. Gideon fought against it with every step, cracking the ground beneath him as he began to move. Brian was no where near as strong as Gideon and he knew it. He snapped back as he suddenly relinquished control to Gideon. But Brian wasn't done, he began to force more and more from some place deep himself he hadn't been. Suddenly Gideon was knocked off his feet and flew to hit the wall as electricity struck him from Brian's hands. Brian fell back as lost strength saying, "I...tried..."
Gideon began to get back up but was suddenly slammed back into the ground by an invisible force. The force picked him back up and slammed him again and again. Brian turned his head to see Magnate and Eclipse walking from behind him.
Magnate smiled as he said, "Sorry about that. The little scamp got away from us." Magnate looked down at himself with a mischievous smile on his face saying, "Well well well, it seems at least that the boy is the me from the past cause I feel like I just got a bit of a power boost. He must've done something to trigger our power earlier than when it was supposed to happen.", said Magnate as he lifted Gideon once more and slammed him into the ground, bending the pipes around him. "Let's go!!", he said as he pointed above them, throwing aside the manhole cover with his mind.
She felt horrible when Brian fell back from the energy he must have lost. That display of power from him had been entirely unexpected. And either it was for him too or he'd been holding out before. Although considering the discharge he'd been having for a while now maybe it wasn't so unrealistic.
'Besides, future him named himself Magnate...clue much? Hmm...I don't seem to change my name though...wonder how far mine got,' Shandra mused over as they ran.
They had to get out of the sewers first but from there on it was clear sailing. She...well older she led them to what looked to be a run of the mill motel on the outskirts of the city. Shandra frowned when she realized why it looked so familiar. She had stayed there while she was making her mind up about whether to join the x-men or not. She hadn't actually stayed long but long enough to make the place familiar to her.
She was told to wait outside by herself, which was strange to hear orders coming out of her mouth, while the older her slipped in and procured them a room for the night. At least some things hadn't changed. The future her was still sneaking into places and taking what she really wanted. Shandra supposed that was a good thing.
And it was a very good thing when they were nestled into the room. Although somehow...that little girl kept clinging to her side almost literally.
"So..." Shandra started up, just to clear the air, "how you feeling Brian?"
Brian sat down with a thud as he moved to get himself comfortable. He turned to Shandra saying only, "Tired.", in response to her question. That energy had felt like it came from inside of him but so much had flooded out of him. "I really don't know what I just did but...it felt kinda cool.", he said as he scooted back to sit upright.
Things were confusing enough without him turning into a battery. "Let's just...let's just put that to the side until we get out of here. New powers are cool and all but not until I learn how to use them....but that was pretty awesome.", he said with a smile.
Noise could be heard from behind the door as Magnate and Eclipse decided their next move. The 'kids' stayed outside the door, waiting to see what was going to happen. Brian wanted to put an ear to the door but he was far too tired to do so.
Shandra sighed and flopped back down on the bed across from Brian. Today just was not her day at all. Everything was so hectic and nothing really seemed to be making much sense. Perhaps she should have paid attention in class better...they might have said something. But no, the only class she seemed to really get into was the weapons training or defense classes. Maybe it was just her way of coping with the world, shut them out as they shut her out, but she knew that it was going to get her in trouble. Like right now.
And then the quiet noises that had been a buzz in the background slowly faded away. But it wasn't the bad kind of silence. Especially since it started back up a moment later, only as though they were fading words instead of actual whispers.
'Hmm...me and him are talking...but it's all whispers and distorted...' Shandra thought with a frown.
"I think she's using my powers..." She said thoughtfully. "Can you hear their voices at all Brian?”
Brian lay with his back on the bed, his head hanging off the edge as Shandra asked him about hearing the conversation. "Well...", he began as he tried to form his thoughts, "It's...weird. Sound goes in and out....I think my power's are running interference with your power...your future power at least.", said Brian as he turned around sharply. He jumped up, running to the door and trying his best to listen in.
He pressed his ear to the door, hearing a jumble of words but understanding the gist of it. He turned to Shandra as he whispered, "It seems....we're going to the institute....they...sound like they're arguing....oh wait!!" He jumped back from the door as they opened it. Brian jumped back as his older self looked down at him with a look of complaint on his face. "Seems your powers are still out of whack if you heard that. But anyway, we're going to the mansion at 3:00 am. The protocols are hidden below the danger room. As long as you guys are there you should be safe with everyone's past self. You guys should rest while you can."
