Disclaimer: This story, though maybe not in this chapter but in subsequent chapters, will have celebrities in it. I have no knowledge of their sexuality and this is not intended to imply their sexuality. This is all from my own mind. Scary!! People actually get a glimpse into my mind!!!
Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Angel and all related characters created by Joss Whedon. Copyright 20th Century Fox.
Batman, and all related characters created by Bob Kane. Copyright DC Comics and Warner Bros.
X-MEN, and all related characters created by Stan Lee. Copyright Marvel Comics and 20th Century Fox.
Star Trek and all related characters created by Gene Roddenberry. Copyright Paramount Studios.
I don't know for sure if I will use all the above elements, but just in case, I have myself covered.
In this story, which has been floating around in my head most of my life, you will find many universes merging, as the above copyrights reveal. I hope you all enjoy this. I appreciate any feedback that you may want to give. This story doesn't deal so much with sex, sex, sex, but more of my feelings that I struggled with and am starting to come to terms with. Part of his background is mine. I do hope that you enjoy it!!!
I have received many emails from people who have enjoyed it and some from those who do not. I would enjoy hearing from you. Any emails you send, please tell me what chapter and story you are commenting on. Thanks.
jmsotc@yahoo.com
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Chapter 32 Mutants in Meridian
Christmas Eve came up and Lance and I piled into the SUV and headed north to Meridian for "A Christmas Carol". It was exciting to be out and about with him. I had enjoyed doing some shopping with his family to get him some last minute gifts. And now we were on our way to a play.
We stopped at a local restaurant for dinner. Lance had assured me it was a great place to eat. They had some good down south food on the menu. I was excited. I love southern cooking and I was in my glory. I also had a dilemma, as I didn't know what to order.
"Pick for me," I said to Lance. "I'm going to the bathroom."
I got up and walked over to the restroom. When I came out, I over heard two women talking.
"It's been a long time, Raven."
"Yes it has, Irene. It's good to see you."
"I wish I could say the same."
"Nice joke, since you are blind. How is the girl?"
"Marie? She is doing well. She is following my guidance fairly well. She doesn't question me, or the choices I make. But I sense that the someone we were worried about is near."
"He couldn't be. I assured that he would not be anywhere near a population. After the murder..."
"Ssh," the woman named Irene interrupted. "He is very near. He's here...in this restaurant."
"Are you sure?"
"Have I ever been unsure?"
"Alright. I will get her out of town tonight."
"Good. We should go."
"If he's here, there is no rush. Let us at least enjoy our meal and time together."
"All right. But time is of the essence, Raven. You know how Magnus feels about this."
Why did the name Magnus sound familiar to me? I couldn't place the face though. I decided to shrug it off. As I walked passed the table, the woman wearing sunglasses on looked in my direction. But by her mannerisms, she seemed blind. Perhaps I was just being overly paranoid.
Lance and I had a wonderful dinner and enjoyed the play very much. Just before it had opened, I had seen the two ladies who were at the restaurant walk in with a girl close to my age. The girl had brown hair and was wearing gloves, even after she had removed her coat.
Lance and I sat holding hands as the play went on. I noticed the girl get up and leave. After about ten minutes or so, I decided to go to the restroom and maybe see where she went. With my mutation expanding my molecules, sometimes I could tell what others were feeling. With the girl, I felt great apprehension coming from her.
I slipped out into the hallway and as I walked to the restroom, I relaxed myself and let my molecules stretch out for her, trying to find her apprehensiveness. I found her outside and so I decided to let the rest of my body go out, too.
"Excuse me," I said as I stepped out by her.
"You're excused," she replied in a strong southern accent.
"My name is Eric. I'm from out of town."
"So?"
"I was just making polite conversation, that's all. I'm here with my boyfriend."
"Lucky you. I'm here with my moms."
"You have two moms? That's cool."
"Yeah, right. They are overprotective. And I hardly ever see my one mom. She's normally traveling the country with her weird friends."
"Have you ever met her friends?"
"Just the one old European guy. He's nice. But it's almost like he has this shield up or something, like he's not telling you everything. Why in the world am I talking to you, anyway?"
"Because I'm a nice guy."
"Yeah. Whatever."
"Marie? Marie! Are you out here?" another voice called.
"Shit, it's my mom!"
"Should I hide or something?"
"It's up to you. My mom can get pretty mad and violent."
"I'm sure I could handle her."
"I doubt that. A faerie guy like you probably would just get his ass kicked."
"Hey!" I replied.
Before I could say anything further, I felt hands on my chest and my body being tossed over someone's shoulder. I landed hard on my back. I looked up to see one of the women staring at me rather intensely, as if my presences were a shock to her.
"Get inside, Marie. I know this man. He's dangerous."
"What?"
"Get inside! Now!"
Marie looked at me and then headed to the door.
"Have we met, ma'am?" I asked as I stood up.
"I know what you did in Los Angeles."
"I didn't do anything in Los Angeles."
"You killed a psychologist."
My mind automatically went to Dr. Israel. He's the only psychologist that I know of who died. And I know that Batman was accused of killing him. But as far as I knew, it had not been reported who Batman really was.
"You must be mistaken. I haven't killed anyone."
The woman did a martial arts move and the next thing I knew, I was lying on the ground. "McCoy, you cannot hide from me. You cannot lie to me. I know who you are."
I looked at the woman known as Raven and familiarity dawned on me.
"Mystique!"
"Your eyes are good. Tell me, how can someone with such good eyesight not see the truths before him."
"What do you mean?"
"Look at the hatred around you. Look at the animosity towards us, towards our kind."
"I see it. I know it exists. I'm going to do all I can to change it."
"As am I. And you being here is disrupting that."
What in the world could she be talking about? Did it have to do with Marie, the girl I was talking to? If so, how? Was she a mutant? Was Mystique planning to use it for something? If she was, I could not allow that to happen. No child should be forced into something they have no clue about. Granted the girl was around my age, but there was something about her, almost a worldly naiveté that I could not ignore. I had to get her away from Mystique. Perhaps the woman Mystique was with was a mutant, too.
Just then, the door opened up and the other woman, Irene, stepped out.
"Raven? Are you okay?"
"Yes, Irene. I'm fine."
"Is he here?"
"Yes. He's here."
"We must keep him away from Marie."
"Not a problem," Mystique replied.
"Easier said than done," I answered.
I flipped up onto my feet and moved to a defensive stance. Whatever this woman could throw out, I was determined to take and counter. Mystique swung her leg at me. I blocked and countered with a punch. I hit her in the face and she fell. She spun her legs around and knocked me on my back.
"Nice try," she said.
Her friend Irene came up to me. She had a collapsible cane with her to help her walk. "Is he defeated?" Irene asked.
"He's immobilized at the moment."
"Not good enough."
Irene pulled the cane back and brought it down to impale me. At the last moment, I rolled to the side, the cane end barely missing. Swinging my legs out, I tripped Irene and flipped up to my feet again. Before Mystique could counter, I spun around and kicked her in the face, knocking her to the ground. I sprinted to the building hoping to catch up with Marie.
Once inside, I found Lance looking for me.
"Are you okay?" he asked. "Where did you go?"
"We've got trouble."
"What? Here? Now?"
"I sort of stumbled upon it. It appears there is a girl here in trouble. We need to help her."
"Where is she?"
"I have to find her. She came back in a few minutes ago. Perhaps she's in the auditorium."
I went to the door and looked over at where I had seen the three ladies sit when they came in. Two of the seats were empty. Marie occupied the third.
"There she is. Go to the car. I'm going to get her."
"Are you sure about this?"
I turned to Lance and looked into his eyes. "Yes."
"Okay."
Lance went out the door and I made my way down to Marie. When I sat next to her, she jumped.
"What are you doing here?" she whispered.
"Your mother attacked me. We need to talk. Come on."
"Why should I go with you?"
"Because I understand your situation more than you do, I think."
"What makes you say that?"
"Mutants."
The girl looked at me wide-eyed and we stood up and went into the corridor. Once out in the hallway, Marie turned to me. "Where did you hear that?"
"One of those women is a mutant. Raven."
"You're wrong."
"No, I'm not. I met up with her in Los Angeles a few months ago."
"You're right about her being a mutant. You're wrong though in thinking just one of them is a mutant. All three of us are."
"What?"
"Irene can see the future. I've heard her call herself Destiny when she would be with others of her kind, our kind. Raven's name is Mystique. I don't really have one."
"What can you do?" I asked.
"When I touch people, I take their memories for a while. They usually end up unconscious. If it's another mutant, I take their powers for a little while."
"Interesting."
"Are you some kind of doctor who can cure mutants of their mutation?" she asked.
"No. I'm a fellow mutant."
"What's your mutation?"
"I can manipulate molecules." I turned to the door to see if Mystique or Destiny were coming. Surprisingly, I found nothing. "We need to get out of here. Come on."
I took Marie by the hand and we ran out the door. Waiting for us were Mystique and Destiny. Mystique was in her normal blue form and white dress. Destiny was wearing a rather elaborate white garb and fancy headdress.
"The girl is not yours!" Destiny shouted. "Marie! Walk away from him! If you go with him, our kind will be destroyed!"
"How do you know this?" I asked.
"I am Destiny. I see the future."
"The future is not set into stone. We make choices all the time. How can you be sure that if she comes with me, events will unfold as you have seen them?"
"Because I am Destiny."
"Oh, great," I whispered. "One of those 'I'm-always-right' people. I hate people like that."
I felt bad that I had not packed my Bat-suit for this trip. But this trip was not intended for Batman. It was time for Lance and I. And now it was all screwed up because of what I was doing. But helping others doesn't take a holiday, not all the time.
"We've got to get out of here," I said to Marie.
"How do you propose we do that?"
"My boyfriend went to get the car. He's close by. If I can just get the attention of these two ladies... I have an idea. Go hide in the bushes. When I tell you to, run for the parking lot."
Marie nodded at me and disappeared into the bushes nearby. I moved out more to the open and away from the bushes, hoping the eyes of the villains would follow me.
"It's over ladies. You don't need to do whatever it is you plan to do with the girl."
I raised my hands and my consciousness stretched out. An eerie wind began to blow as my molecules mingled with the air. I picked up objects and began to move them around a little, building up strength to pick them up and toss them at the women. This, I realized, is what happened with Turic, as well as all the other times I used my mutation to "pick up" things.
Objects began to lift off the ground and I nodded once. I heard Marie's movement, more like felt and saw it as some of my molecules were floating around, and knew she had ran toward the parking lot. I tossed the objects in Mystique and Destiny's directions. Destiny dodged the first two objects. Mystique dodged several as well. But I kept hurling the objects toward them and eventually they were hit, knocked down.
I took off for the parking lot running as fast as I could. I saw the SUV with its lights on and I approached it. The door opened and I climbed in. Marie was sitting in the back.
"I see you found my boyfriend," I said.
"Yeah. Lucky."
I grinned.
"Where to?" Lance asked.
"Let's just get away from here for now."
Our SUV drove off carrying us away from the immediate threat. After about ten to fifteen minutes of driving, I suggested that Lance pull over. Then I grabbed his car phone and called Xavier's Institute in Westchester New York.
"Hello?" a gruff yet sophisticated voice said sleepily. "Xavier's Institute for Gifted Students. How may I help you?"
"I need to speak to Professor Xavier."
"I'm sorry but the Professor is sleeping."
"It's a matter concerning Mystique. Please, I need to speak to him."
Immediately the answerer became serious and awake. "One moment."
We waited for a few moments and then I heard the familiar sound of Professor Charles Xavier's voice. "Hello?"
"Hello, Professor. This is Eric McCoy. I'm sure you are not that happy to talk to me. That's not why I called. I have a girl here that Mystique and Destiny was planning something with. Right now we are in Meridian, Mississippi. I suggest you contact a local campus or find some way to get down here. She would be much safer with you. And maybe you could examine her mind to find out exactly what they were planning."
I hung up.
"Why did you hang up?" Marie asked. "You didn't give him directions."
"Professor Xavier is a telepath. He will have no trouble finding us."
"Who is Professor Xavier?"
"He is a mutant who created a school for mutants to learn to control their powers. It's to keep them safe from the cruelty of the world until they are ready to deal with the world's cruelty."
"How do you know of this place? Did you grow up there?"
"No. But I did train with some of them. They are good people."
We waited for about fifteen more minutes and a faint rush of air was heard. I stepped out of the SUV and looked around at the clear sky. A car came flying around the corner and nearly hit me. It skidded to a halt and Mystique got out.
"It's not over, McCoy. I want my daughter back!"
"You're not fit to raise her. I've dealt with bad parents before. You rank among them."
Mystique flipped over and over toward me. She jumped in the air, spun around and kicked me in the face, knocking me against the SUV. She walked over to the SUV and opened the door. Without warning, a harsh wind blew in. I looked up, as did Mystique, to see Storm hovering in the air. A sleek jet hovered above her. Small lightning bolts emanated from Storm's eyes.
"Mystique. It's over," Storm called out.
"Not quite, Storm! You don't know what it's like to lose your daughter! I will not give her up! Even to you!"
"I do know what it's like to lose a child. I lost my son. Thank Heaven I got him back. If you carry out what you plan to do to her, you will lose her forever. Is that what you want?"
Mystique grabbed the top of the SUV and flipped onto the roof. She lunged at Storm and knocked her out of the air. They landed with a crash. Storm flipped Mystique over her head and then flipped up to her feet. Mystique turned and kicked Storm to the ground. Then she walked over to Storm.
The back door to the SUV opened and Marie got out. She walked up to her mother and pulled off a glove. "Sorry, mom," she said as she grabbed Mystique by the arm.
Mystique's eyes glazed over and she looked off into space. Marie turned to me and gave me a weird look, one of recognition, and then she released Mystique. Mystique fell to the ground unconscious. Storm stood up.
"Are you alright?" Storm asked.
"Yes. I'm fine. Are you okay?"
"Yes. Thank you." Storm walked over to me. "Thank you for calling Professor Xavier. He wanted me to extend to you his gratitude."
"You're welcome. Now get her out of here and some place safe."
"Come with me, Marie."
Marie pulled on her glove and walked up to me. "Thank you, Eric, for your help. It was very kind of you."
"You're welcome, Marie."
Marie placed her hand on my shoulder in gratitude. "I know you didn't do it."
I looked at her askance, but I did not have time to ask what she meant. She grabbed onto Storm, who floated up to the jet. Within moments the jet was flying away.
"Raven?" came a voice from the car. "Raven! Where are you? What's happened?"
I climbed into the SUV and Lance and I drove off.
To Be Continued...
Marie, a. k. a Rogue, appears along with Destiny. And Mystique and Storm returned. Does anyone know what Marie meant when she said, "I know you didn't do it" to Eric?
What did you think? I'd love to hear from you!