Chapter 3 - Fear of the Unknown

Attention:  Generation X and their villians, as wellas any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations.  Any otherreference to anything copywrighted is a chance happening.
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Changes
Chapter 3 Fear of the Unknown
            He couldn't believe it.  The pain, the trauma, it was enough to almostdefeat his own personality.  He saw thoughts in his mind, a war torncountry, the image of a man wearing a mask.  He couldn't picture anythingelse.  He started moving his arms as if to knock this man away, butit wasn't working.  He heard then in his mind a voice.  It wassounded in a strange dialect, and language.  He could identify it. He knew it as Serbo-Croatian.  It sounded female.  The voicewas almost psionic but it was not like Ms. Frost's voice.  It wasas if this voice was asking him to talk to her.  He opened his eyesthe people were shouting at someone.  He could all of a sudden rememberhis personality and finally it stopped.  The person must have steppedaway.  He tried to speak, but it was a great strain.  He lookedat his hands.  They were red and claw like.

            They all ran to the man.  She couldn't believe it.  As she approachedhim from the shadows, he had stopped talking and collapsed onto the floor. As she watched, he started turning into her.  When everyone rushedto him, they seemed to realize something was happening and she was thecause.  The girl that was related to Him, pointed in her directionand the man who was in charge started shouting something.  It wasn'tuntil Jubilee, the one that treated her like a sister motioned in a stepback way. She stepped back and the man stopped thrashing.
            The man started to get up and look around.  He looked in her direction. His face and hair had taken on the same qualities as her.  He lookedlike he was really concentrating and then said, "It's Okay.  You didn'tknow about what would happen.  I take it you can understand me now."It was in her native tongue.  She was amazed.  He was handsomein his way and she thought that he could truly understand.  He thensaid, "We'll talk later, Ok."  Upon which, he started to look normalagain.  Someone she could communicate with, someone who could talkwith her.  For the first time in her life since Him, she wasn't afraidat all.

            The look of shock on his face as well as everyone else's were the same. To say that Angelo was shocked was understating the obvious.  Notsince his days in LA did he ever see something this shocking.  Theman spoke in a strange language and Penance understood every word. When he returned to a normal form, Sean said, "Lad, what the hell did yesay, and in what language."
            Richlooked at everyone, then looked at Penance.  He then turned back toeveryone and said, "I spoke to her in her native tongue.  I take ityou didn't know she was Yugoslavian."
            "Howin the world did you figure that one out?"  Monet asked.  Shewas a bit dumb struck by this turn of events.
            Rich looked at her and said, "You're the smart one, aren't you?"
            "Yes, why?"
            "You lack common sense.  I have a relative exactly like that."
            "How can you say such a thing?"
            "Did you listen to what I said?"
            "Of course I did.  I heard every word you said until.... Oh."
            Jubilee smiled and said, "It's okay, Monet.  He pulled the same thingon me."
            Rich glanced in Penance's direction and she smiled.  Rich returnedthe smile and said, "It appears I have made my first friend here."
            "Lad, how did ye figured out she was from Yugoslavia?"  Sean asked.
            "Okay, I saw images of a war-torn country and I heard a language in myhead.  I somehow identified it as Serbo-Croatian.  With recenthistory, I do believe Yugoslavia is a war-torn country, and as part ofa report on the country, I found out its language."
            "You have a good memory."  Everett said, obviously impressed.
            "I remember trivia.  It comes in handy sometimes."
            "Well now, lad.  I think you need a quiet tour to show you around.Angelo, I think you have the first task."
            "Si, if you will follow me, Rich, I shall show you around the grounds,and over to the computer center."
            Angelo headed out of the hall.  In a couple of seconds, Rich fellinto step behind him and said, "Lead the way, senor.  By the way,what's your full name?"
            "Oh, Angelo Espinosa.  I come from L.A."
            "So, what's it like around here?"
            "It's quiet, except when there is a problem.  We usually have problemsthat happen once a week here."
            "Hey, it quieter than my home town.  It was turning into the big cityin leaps.  I just had to get away."
            "Well, it may seem you might be leaving one bad place for another." Angelopulled out a cigarette and lit it up.
            "What make you say that, other than your impersonation of a smoke stack?"
            Angelo stopped in his tracks and turned.  Rich had a huge grin onhis face, not showing any teeth though.  "I take it you have beentaking lessons on smart remarks."
            "Yes, I use the classics as well as making up new material."
            "Well as I was saying before, you might see some troubles here.  Ithink Monet is going to tell you about them, but we have encountered manystrange things."
            Rich let a smile cross his face, revealing a reason why he kept a bit ofa frown.  His teeth appeared to be crooked.  "I like the soundof that," he said with a slight accent.
            "What happened with your teeth, Rich?"
            "That's the way they came in.  I know it looks strange.  Thatis the reason that I don't smile too often."
            They continued on and Angelo pointed out every place on the campus. Richlisten to everything and they eventually entered the main building. Angelohad lead Rich to the computer room where Monet was waiting.  It wastime for Rich to get the run down on the computer setup. Angelo had leftto smoke another cigarette.

            Monet watched as Angelo left.  She still felt a little upset whenshe found out that Angelo had seen her diary.  She waited until hewas gone and turned to Rich.  "Hello, Richard.  My name is MonetSt. Croix, and I would like to personally welcome you to the school."
            Rich bowed and said, "My pleasure to meet you.  The way you act, youseen to come from a family of wealthy status.  I hope I haven't jumpedto any wrong conclusions."
            "You seemed to be a nice person.  Well, I have the duty of showingyou the computer, as well as some of the files."
            "Let me guess, Mr. Cassidy, or should I call him Sean, is worried abouthow I acted at the airport, and has drafted you to find out."
            "I guess the secrets out."
            "The truth can surface in ugly ways, Monet."  She knew how true thatwas, but she didn't want to say anything to Rich about her brother untilhe saw the file.
            "Well," she stepped over to the computer system, "this is our version ofthe Cerebro computer and the main school.  It has a file on everymutant, and a copy of every enemy that Generation X has ever faced."
            "Let me guess, so I know who to avoid."
            "In a way, let me get a picture of the first one."  She punched upthe file of the X- Cutioner.  A figure appeared in front of Rich andhe just looked at it.
            "Let's see, he must have a Grim Reaper fixation."
 v"In the worse way, The X-Cutioner is fixated on the terminationof mutants.  He wanted to destroy any mutant that he thought had committeda crime.  Angelo told us that he went after him."
            "Does he have any mutant abilities?"
            "No."  She noticed that Rich made a motion as if he was thankful thatthis guy wasn't a mutant.  "Let me show you the next enemy." She accessed the file on Omega Red.  It could be a major problem ifhe turned in to him could be dangerous.
            "He looks like one unhappy camper.  Did he get in the extra ugly linewhen God handed out looks."
            "No.  Science made him that way.  He has the mutant ability tocreate a death spore."
            "Yeesh.  I hope I never meet him."
            "Actually, only Jonothon was able to defeat him.  Jonathon can't die,as far as we know." Rich looked at the image as if he was wondering aboutwhat to do in case Omega Red did get near.  "I think I should showyou the file on one of our main problems."  She brought up the fileon her brother, Emplate.  She knew that she could give them more informationthan what they had on Emplate, but, she still felt awkward about that knowledge.The image had came up and Rich screamed.  She turned and saw him huddlingin a corner, his face in his hands.  "Did you see that in Penance'smemories, the image of Emplate?"
            He spoke in a shaky voice.  "The hands.  That is what Penancefeared.  He had seen me.  I pray he didn't follow me.  Bythe grace of God, may he not find me."
            "Oh, dear.  I'm going to get Sean.  I think he might want tohear this."  She left the room and ran to Sean's office.
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            When Monet told him that she discovered the reason for Rich's alarm, Seanwas glad that they found the cause.  He was not too happy with thestate that Rich was in now.  He followed Monet back to the computerroom to see the one thing he hoped it wouldn't be.  He saw Rich inthe corner of the room, scared to move.  What was in the center ofthe room was an image of Emplate.  "Rich, are ye okay, lad?"
            Rich was still curled in the corner and only muttered, "The hands. Thehands."
            He looked at the image of Emplate and then realized that must have tippedRich off to Emplate's presence.  He hadn't seen Emplate, maybe becausehe was not in synch with the dimension which they lived in.  Maybethat couldn't be hidden from Rich.  "Do you want to explain it, Rich?"
            Rich's voice still shook in fear as he began, "When I left the plane andstarted in your direction, I had to shift the weight of my bags. When I did that, I notice holes were forming on my hands.  I musthave gotten close to him, but I couldn't see him.  He could have attackedme without me realizing he was there.  At least, he didn't approachme.  But I fear he knows, I can't help but fear that he knows."
            He turned to Monet and said, "I think you better talk to him about this,lass.  You know more about Emplate than any of us, except maybe forPenance."
            "Yes, sir." she said.  Sean then turned off the file on Emplate andleft the room.  He figured that he should talk to Emma about this.

            Rich glanced up and noticed the image had disappeared.  He watch Seanleave the room and Monet was standing with a worried look on her face.He started to stand, a bit leery about what he had seen when Monet said,"I guess I should tell you about Emplate."
            He wondered what in the world she knew about this monster.  "Whatdo you know about it?"
            "Emplate, I am sad to say, is my brother."
            He almost returned to the huddled state that he was in before.  "Heis your brother.  My god, are you anything like him?"
            "No.  He hates me to the core.  One reason for that is that hecannot sup on me."
            "Sup?"
            "He eats mutant genetic marrow.  He would do the same to you, unlesshe can turn you into one like him."
            "You mean to say, that he is a mutant vampire, and that you are immuneto this creature?"
            "Yes, when he revealed the relation between us, relations between the individualmembers and myself became tougher."
            "I guess that could be a problem, to find out one of the team is relatedto a murderous mutant who wouldn't give a second thought to killing allof us."  He could help but to keep more of a distance from Monet now,but he felt sorry for her.  All because of Emplate, some members wereshunning her.  He started to wonder if Penance shunned her as well. "Monet, how much about Emplate do you figure Penance knows?"
            She almost stopped with that thought.  She gave an appearance thatshe was almost deep in thought when she said, "She could probably giveyou a personal account on what it is like to be a prisoner of Emplate. It is unknown how long she was in my brother's grip."
            "I hope she doesn't mind me asking about it.  I mean, after what Isaw, I think I need the advice of someone who survived being his victim."
            "Everett could also tell you something about that.  A while back,my brother possessed him."
            "I wonder who took that the hardest.  Everett, or Jubilee."
            "What do you mean?"
            "I got a bit close to Jubilee earlier.  I found out that she likesEverett."
            "Well, that is almost no secret, but you picked up on that before you wereeven told."
            Rich felt a bit awkward about that.  That was one aspect of his powersthat made him feel like he was losing control.  It also made him feellike a voyeur.  He then said to Monet, "I guess I should see the nextitem on the tour."
            "Thatwould be the med center."  He turned to see a guy, about his age,wrapped in black straps.  He wondered about this.
            "And you are?"
            "JonathonEvans Starsmore."
            "Oh, you are the one you defeated Omega Red?  I must commend you.To defeat something like that, I must shake your hand."  He startedto walk over to Jonathon when all of a sudden, his mutant ability startedto kick in.  He felt a slight pain.
            "Gov,I wouldn't suggest that..."  An explosion knocked him away fromJono.  He heard Monet yelling, but his ears were ringing from theexplosion.  He looked down and saw a flare of red right about wherehis chest had been.  His clothing had still been in shape, but itappeared his skin and all was gone.
            "What the hell happened in..."  He heard Sean yell and as the Irishman saw him on the floor.  "Let me guess, you got close to Jonathon,right?"
            "Iwas going to congratulate him on his defeat of that Omega Red fellow. When I heard about it, I felt it was only right to congratulate him. This is odd though."  He then watched as his chest started toreform.
            "Iguess that is what will happen when ever you get close to a mutant anddon't know their abilities."  Jono remarked.  Rich gave hima look.  This must have happened when Jono's ability first manifested.
            Rich waited until his mouth had returned and said, "I think from now on,I should be informed upon everyone's abilities.  If anything likethis is the norm, I would like to be informed."
            "Agreed, lad."  Sean said with an approving look.  "Of thoseyou have met, Jono is psi-mutant.  As you guessed with me, I havea sonic scream.  Jubilee has the ability to produce explosive plasmoids. Angelo has the ability to control and extra six feet of skin that he has.Monet has super-strength, flight, night-vision and..."
            Monet spoke up, "In other words, I'm perfect."
            Rich turned to Monet and said, "Great, you don't exist.  I hate figmentsof my imaginations."
            Monet looked at him sternly and said, "What do you mean?"
            "Monet, one of my hobbies is writing computer programs.  In learninghow to write them, I learned that nothing is perfect.  Perfectionis an illusion.  If you were perfect, you would have to hide secrets."
            Monet opened up her mouth and immediately stopped.  She almost wentinto a talk and then said, "Mon Dieu, you're right."
            Rich then turned to Jono and said, "Jono, I think you better show me themedical center again, just in case of another incident or I have a seizure."
 
 

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