The First Appointment Act One By Jesse N. Willey Doctor Leonard Samson looked over his list of patients for group therapy for the day. When he saw, it was the new United Nations sponsored mutant team FED-X he doubled over with fright. Though it was his expertise, sometimes he hated the super human clients. Their problems made his life seem so trivial. That was even before he saw his first patient. A girl, or was it girls, who were extremely hyperactive. Next to her were two tall red haired boys who didn't appear to like each other in any other way. Next on his list was a grey haired slightly muscular looking woman. A long-haired woman, who sat across from the muscular woman, snapped her fingers and the coffee machine transformed into a typewriter. Then came Roger Bochs, respected phyicist and one of Samson's old friends. Directly to their left was a purple skinned boy who looked very bored. Lastly as a two foot tall duck. Quite an odd lineup, or so he thought. They were even odder than Bruce, which was quite a feat. "So, you're the mutants that the United Nations picked?" Samson said, as he expected something that was actually threatening. It seemed to him that was what it took to be a ‘super hero' these days. He longed for an age with more variety. "Actually, no, we're not," said one of the hyperactive girls. "You aren't?" Samson asked, with a sigh of relief. "Nope. We're the only ones they could get to volunteer. I guess they thought we were crazy to do it. Otherwise, we wouldn't be here," another identical looking young woman said. The two red haired boys laughed. The grey-haired woman chuckled. The Duck pulled a cigarette out of its pant pocket and lit it. Something told Samson this was going to be a long day. He led them into a dark room with lots of bean bag chairs. He hoped he could get them to relax. "Now, who wants to tell their story first?" Samson asked. "Ohhhh.... me, me, me," said one the hyperactive girls. "No, me me me," another cried. "No, you got to tell Val. It's my turn," said yet third. "Oh, all right," the first one said. "Though I doubt you could tell it any better." "I can tell the story just as well as you can," the third said. "Will you three just cut it out," Terry sighed. Samson barely held back his urge to scream. . "First off, there is something I have to say. I was born on another planet in the future. I was a member of this other team until one of my duplicates was killed by Computo and..." Jamie #3 said. "Tell him the truth, please. We don't want him to end up like our last thirteen therapists," number #2 replied. "Okay, it all started several years when I was living all by myself. My parents died from radiation poisoning, but I was okay. I always had plenty of people to talk to, and being able to duplicate yourself makes doing chores a breeze," Jamie #1 said. "Easy for you to say, you didn't have to take out the garbage," said Jamie #2. "Anyway as I was saying, all was pretty dull, until the Fantastic Four rescued me from the farmhouse. After discovering I was mutant, they took me to meet Carolyn Xavier, who offered membership in X-Factor, but I turned'em down. So, I went to Muir Island where that I could study my powers," she continued. "That's where I met Terry and Ray." "I met them first," the second replied. "Oh be quiet," the first replied. "Anyway, when I first met him, I was a bit nervous. Ben Grimm and Reed Richards excluded I'd never met any guys before. To top it off, Ben wasn't much of a pretty boy," Jamie said. "Terry quickly became my best friend and we were almost inseparable." "No, you two were practically joined at the hip," Jamie #2 said sarcastically. "Well... after the Coconut Grove thing, yeah, but that wasn't all that long ago," Jamie #1 said. "Yeah, right..." Jamie #2 replied. "What were you two doing while the rest us were off trying to actually help with the sitution." -- "I wasn't even supposed to be here today!" - Dante Go to Hell....... I mean my webpage http://www.geocities.com/soho/coffeehouse/2851/ Also visit my new LNH Writer's message board: http://www.InsideTheWeb.com/messageboard/mbs.cgi/mb89765 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Know someone who deserves flowers? At proflowers.com, it's only $29.95 plus S & H ($5.95 for most domestic locations) for one dozen roses and shipped direct from the grower via Fedex Priority Overnight. http://www.proflowers.com/eg.cfm Subscribe, unsubscribe, opt for a daily digest, or start a new e-group at http://www.eGroups.com -- Free Web-based e-mail groups.