psinex@yahoo.com Academia Book 1: Starting Block Chapter 7 by Phil Hartman DISCLAIMER: Everyone here is Marvel's, except for Soraya, who's mine. No money is being made off of this. Please don't sue. ------------------------------------------------------ 9/30/00: X-Mansion: 14:12 hrs EDT: ------------------------------------------------------ I can't ... I WANT to, though. Pink hair, bones going all over ... "Pretty-pretty," the Morlock elders used to say about the upworlders. Usually with a lot of hate. I don't remember much about B.D. - Before Dad - but I remember that much. Don't trust. Hide. Fight only if cornered. Being a toddler, I usually had Callisto to hide behind, or Sunder if he was in a good mood. Then they were crippled. The Marauders came. And the Morlocks died. Leech and I - and Artie, though we called him Big Eyes back then - ran. What were we gonna do, fight ? Leech's damper field blocked powers, not grown-up strength. Then he came ... my red-eyed angel. Even more than Uncle Warren (Cal always had good taste), Remy was a savior. A hope. A man, like anyone else. I would've gutted ANYONE who hurt him when we found out he'd organized the Marauders. Aunt Ororo was understanding, Aunt Rogue ... afraid. The others, angry - maybe I can understand, now that I'm older. But all those years ago, Remy saved the three of us and gave us to my dad. The man I call "Daddy." Henry McCoy, Ph.D. Bravest guy I know; not the smartest, for a while, until he got his fur back, but the bravest. And the biggest heart. He cared for a little lost Morlock girl, showing her the upworlders weren't so scary after all. "Pretty-pretty." He tried to show me they weren't words of cruelty after all, that there IS beauty in the world ... in our souls ... But I can't get past my outward looks. Why should some boy, then ? I've got brains. I can control my bones ... for a while. But no one'll want to ask me to the dance ... All-School Dance. Huge event, for Salem Center. Hundreds of kids, my age, together. Semi-formal; Cece picked my dress herself, a Kay Cera original put together for me ... I can't DO this. It's beautiful ! What if my bones pop and I tear it apart ? Pretty-pretty. Not like me ... I tell myself I am. I can DO this. The hair's not so weird ... the bones aren't coming out of my FACE - - today - (And you thought ZITS were bad !) I'm scared. Darn straight I'm scared. Put me next to Ray or Luna or Nicky or Claud or Becky or Nga or Gail or May, and I'm a freak. But ... down below, they'd be the freaks. If I look at it that way - - but the Morlocks were isolationists, so angry and hateful and MEAN, like Masque and Berzerker and Plague - - and gentle, like Annalee and Dreamer and Erg and Tar Baby and Leech and Caliban ... and Cal. I'm not down below anymore. Just in my own dumps. And a McCoy doesn't sit in the dumps. He - she - goes out there, grabs the world by the neck and rides that critter. (Bless Grandpa Norton for that bit of wisdom.) Grandma Edna wouldn't want me to hide, either. Cece'd want me to be brave. And Daddy ... OK. So I go in the group. What's the worst that can happen, right ? ------------------------------------------------------ 18:00 hrs: ------------------------------------------------------ "Ghrrk ... I HATE tuxes," Bill muttered as the male New Mutants gathered in the front hall. "I thought we could wear suits ?" "Style, my sibling," Tom reassured him with a smirk. "This is our first real formal - we don't want the girls to outshine us, now do we ?" "You know what they say about guys who worry too much about fashion, Tom," Frank grinned, adjusting his bow-tie. "Slumming, aren't we ?" Chuck snorted from the top of the stairs in sweats. "Enjoy your tour of the genetic dregs, guys. I'm staying AWAY from the flatscans -" He gaped as the girls walked past, and Ray flashed him a wicked grin. "You get snooty, you lose, Chuckster," the psion laughed, wearing a strapless green dress. "M'sieu Richards, where's our 'ride' ?" "Outside - the Professor wouldn't let me bring him in the house," Frank sighed. He opened the door, taking Ray's hand, and whistled with his free one. "BOW-OW-OW-OW-OWF !" "Puppy ! Oh, you big drooly thing you, come here !" Luna gushed, hugging Frank's teleporting dog. The Inhuman canine licked her face, then bounded over to pounce on his master and pant with a huge, stupid grin. "OK, beast, get OFF !" Frank tried to laugh. "I think I busted a rib there for a minute ..." ~Rib? Masterfriend have ribs ?~ the telepaths present "heard." "No. But I'm sure someone'll cook you up some if you want them later," Frank said, dusting dog fur off of his tuxedo as he stood. "We all -" Chuck came bounding down the stairs in a tux, drawing curious stares from the others. "I can ... adapt," the magnakinetic said in response to their unasked question. "That's 19 ... where's -" Leong began. The kids gasped when Sarah approached. Her still-short pink hair had been neatly brushed, topping a shyly-smiling face with blue eyes set off by a well-done makeup job. Her tasteful black minidress was accessorized by matching heels, her arms bare to let her carry a purse. And nowhere on her was any trace of surface bone. "Sarah ... you're ... your ..." Joe breathed. "You're gorgeous." He blushed, going bright red when she pecked him on the cheek and smiled, "Thank you. All of you. I think ... I think this might work." "MIGHT !?" Ray laughed. "Girlfriend, you ROCK ! Let's go show Salem Center what Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters is all about, people !" ------------------------------------------------------ "Are you sure I should be here ?" Nate asked as they rematerialized outside Salem Center Junior High. "I mean -" "You're one of us," Ray said reassuringly. "If anyone has a problem, they can stick it. The only one who has to stay away is Puppy - Scrap, didn't you EVER name him anything besides that ?" "It never seemed to really matter," Frank shrugged, scratching Puppy's head. "Good boy - here's a treat." The others nodded, some in obvious surprise, as a huge steak fell from mid-air. Puppy pounced, joyful doggy-vibes lighting up the astral plane as he gnawed. "Complex organic compounds, Frank ?" Tom asked. "Pretty nice power control." "That wasn't transmutation, Tom," Frank shrugged. "I just teleported it from Mr. Logan's private stash." "Oh God - extra wind sprints tomorrow," Joe moaned as the kids entered the gym. "Unless we go kill a cow ..." "Logan likes his raw - I bet you 'ported that from the kitchen," Ray teased Frank. She took his hand, leading him to the dance floor, and let him whirl her around. "Showoffs," Luna laughed. "Lew, would you ... ?" "Mah pleasure," the Kentucky boy beamed, taking Luna by the arm and letting her lead as they danced. Tom and Bill gaped, as Becky smiled knowingly and looked at Tom. "He's a gentleman, boys. Now, which one o'ya two's gonna give little ol' me a dance ? Or do ah hafta haul Puppy in here an'turn mahself int' a Saint Bernard t'shake mah booty ?" the faunomorph grinned. "She would, too," Nga whispered good-naturedly to Sarah. They watched as Bill clumsily danced with Becky, and Claudette and Artie started to swing-dance in the middle of a circle of clapping teens. "I'm glad the townies aren't freaking over Artie - or Leech," Sarah said, watching her foster brother headbang with Gail by the speakers. "I wonder -" "Excuse me." Sarah watched Nga's jaw drop and followed her friend's eyes to where a chest appeared in front of their faces. She looked up to find a pair of large blue eyes looking back at her from beneath short brown hair. #Oh. My. God.# "I saw you come in - you guys're from Xavier's, right ?" the Caucasian boy asked with a big smile. "I'm Dave. I just wanted to ask if you'd like to dance ?" "Oh, you must mean Nga," Sarah said, laughing a little. "No, I meant you. That hair is really kickin'," Dave said, smiling again. "Totally retro." Sarah felt the blood rushing, and a small shove as Nga whispered, "GO FOR IT !" She took Dave's hand as the music slowed, and they started to spin. "I never asked your name," Dave said, meeting Sarah's gaze. "Sarah. Sarah McCoy," the girl breathed - barely. "My dad's Dr. Hank McCoy -" "The Avenger ! Yeah - he was an X-Man, though, right ?" Dave asked. "Great football star, smart too." "He's still an X-Man - he and my stepmom, Cecilia Reyes," Sarah said. "But what about you ?" "Freshman at Salem Center High - fresh-soph football team, my dad's an accountant, Mom's a nurse," Dave said, shrugging. "Big brother's off at Yale. Nothing as kewl as living with real live superheroes." "We're really like anybody else - we don't even wear spandex all the time," Sarah tried to laugh. #He doesn't think I'm a freak ... !# "Neat," Dave said. "May I - it's kind of a slow dance -" "Please," Sarah whispered, laying her head on his chest as he slipped an arm around her waist. She let the music carry them, spinning around in her own thoughts. Until the scream began. "JESUS !" Dave yelled, stepping away from her. Sarah staggered, feeling herself, going pale when blood appeared on her hand as she patted her back. #NoNONonONONONONO-# "I'm sorry," Sarah pleaded, looking around tearfully at the other kids. "I - Dave, are you OK ?" "Y-yeah - are you ?!" Dave asked, looking at tbe bone spike coming out of Sarah's shoulderblade with fear. #And disgust - why not, I'm a FREAK, I knew I couldn't do this, I lost control, I scared EVERYONE -# "Sarah ! SARAH !" She ignored the cries, running. Running. ------------------------------------------------------ He found her curled up on the med-lab table, changed into a tank top and shorts, her knees under her chin. "Oh, my little girl," Hank said gently, extending a hand. Sarah sniffled, climbing down to hug her father, and tried not to sob. "I-is he - are the others - did I start a riot ?" Sarah mumbled into blue fur. "Not at all," Hank said reassuringly. He met his adoptive daughter's eyes and said, "The dance went on, and we told the others to stay there. I felt you might want some time alone, even if they were insistent upon coming back to help you." "They're good friends - I ruined their night, I thought I could CONTROL it, Daddy, but that damn bone spike came out of NOWHERE - what if it'd been my chest, I'd've KILLED Dave !?" Sarah shouted. She tore free of Hank's grasp, hot rage twisting her face, and pulled at the spike with angry cries. "Sarah ! It's not ready to come out !" Hank pleaded, trying to stop the girl. She yanked again, feeling release, but held only the tip in her hands and hurled it into the medical waste bin. "I'M not ready ! I'll never BE ready !" Sarah shouted, pushing Hank away before falling. She shook, sobbing, and recoiled from his touch. "You see ?" Sarah demanded, finally standing and wiping away the tears and the mucus. "I'll never be accepted. I'll never be able to hide. I'll never be pretty like the others. I HATE my power, I HATE being a mutant, I HATE the Marauders for killing my world, my people, my LIFE !" "But Sarah," Hank mumbled, "we're here -" She hugged him, almost knocking the breath out of him, and cried, "I can't stay here forever ! I can't DO this, Daddy ! I can't live among the humans, I can't hide behind the mansion walls, I can't go back to the Alley because Thor burned it clean - where CAN I go !?" Hank let her cry. #Brilliant, McCoy. For once in your life, you're at a loss for words at the most important moment.# ------------------------------------------------------ "Whimper." #huh ?# SLURP. "Oh, great," Sarah tried to laugh, sitting up on the couch in the study. Puppy looked at her with big eyes as she cast aside her blanket, and she pulled free a spare femur. "Someone can get some use out of me," the girl said, letting the dog gnaw on the bone. She concentrated, closing the wound along her thigh, and yawned. #God, I was such a whiny little twerp,# Sarah thought, pulling on her shorts and stretching against the door frame. #Daddy's been so nice through this, but I can't hide. But I can't freak out, either ...# She heard the doorbell and ran, flinging it open with a yelled, "I'VE GOT - it." Dave stood there with a sheepish grin and a bouquet of roses. "I don't know if you wanted to see me again, but Luna said you might want to ... y'know, have lunch sometime ?" the boy asked. "I - I - but I -" Sarah stammered. "I was a total doof," Dave continued, handing the roses to Sarah. "I didn't want you to think I was some kind of FOH jerkoff. I know you're training to use your powers - I think your power's neat. You know, you could grow a real Halloween skeleton, or something - God, I sound dumb -" Sarah kissed his cheek. "Five minutes," she pleaded. "Just five minutes, I'll meet you back here, thank you thank you THANK YOU -" She bolted upstairs, giggling. #Whiny Bone Chick strikes again !!!# ------------------------------------------------------ NEXT: Ever been the littlest ? The last picked for kickball ? Have your lunch money stolen ? It's payback time >) ------------------------------------------------------ __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Send instant messages with Yahoo! Messenger. http://im.yahoo.com/ --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- FREE CREDIT AND DEBT HELP! Let this non profit lower your credit card interest rate to zero, cut your minimum monthly payments by 50% or MORE, and instantly begin to IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT RATING. http://click.topica.com/aaaaocaVxiJRaVz48Jc/edebtconsolidation ------------------------------------------------------------ ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A The Email You Want. http://www.topica.com/t/16 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics