Chapter 7

October 24th 1996
14:15 PM

 

Finally free! I can't believe they would give us this many exams back to back this month. Leaning tiredly against the hood of my camaro. Cheerful students filled the parking lot, and were really loud, as they mingled enthusiastically. Some went to leave immediately.

I was waiting for my friends, life at school had been rather... normal with them at my side. Jessica and Patsy were awesome to hang with. Cindy, a recent addition to our circle, always followed us. She stuck to me like glue now- not that I was complaining or anything! 

Gwen was also part of our circle of friends too, however, she didn't take too well to how Cindy and I were now together. Gwen believed she wasn’t worth my time, and the two constantly snipped at each other. Then there was Peter. Ah, my favorite spider.

Peter Parker was my pet project at the moment, and since me and Cindy got together he has mellowed on me, considering me no threat for his design on Gwen. His puppy love for her was cute, compared to the Peter of Earth 616, this one had completely dismissed Mary Jane Watson, thinking of her as a bitch and a vapid girl; while he thought that Gwen Stacy was the girl for him, beauty and brain.

He was right of course, it caused me and Peter to become what you could call frenemies? After Gwen blackmailed him into apologizing to me -he was rather reluctant at that time- we now spoke normally to each other. Through barbs and snide comments,  I discovered that there was a personality under all those black clothes and sullen look, he was terribly smart too!

The only excuse I got for myself for not trying to get along earlier, was that I avoided him and his negativity because of his behavior and constant grief and guilt. He didn’t think much of himself either, but I noticed that Gwen had been working on him and it seems that he has more confidence now. She must have been subtly training him with her… feminine wiles. Though if he didn’t resolve his mental problem I would force him to.

Feeling the familiar minds of my friends, and Peter, I lifted my head, seeing them exit the school building. Jessica was still in her punk rock phase with pink hair, dressed in a black hoodie and jeans, paired with soft ankle boots. Patsy wore a blue jacket, a white top showing her midriff and knee-length skirt with heels. The younger girl had opted for a more mature style of dress lately, which I believed was a result of my influence and she seeks to emulate me.

It was flattering, but I didn’t want to go in her head to know why she did so, and I just shrugged at that. Gwen, the little fairy, was more conservative in her choice of clothing, wearing a green sweater with a brown short pleated skirt and black tights. She wore her hair short in a pixie haircut.

Looking at myself I wore what I considered a trendy outfit, certainly more provocative to the standards of the 90’s, a long sleeved and sheer-through black top that I wore under a scarlet red mini-dress with straps, tights and knee-high black boots. If I was fire and stimulation, Gwen was hidden and understated leaves. I admired her for that- I had passed my time in middle school trying to do the same but they still saw me and I got bullied for it.

Nevertheless, she chose to shine with her intellect, instead of her body; a completely different approach. As for Peter, like I said, he was my pet project. He still wore those baggy black things that hid his physique, the idiot. If he cared more about his image he would make great stride into him not being underestimated. What he was doing to himself was concerning enough that it got through my apathy toward him.

At the same time those four approached, I saw my favorite jock do the same on my right. Flash Thompson, and following him was Liz Allan, his girlfriend who scowled at me as she walked up to my car. Uh oh. She was really distinguishable with her round face, pert nose, pale skin and large blue eyes which were now stormy as they met my apathetic emerald green. I’ve never liked her, and she was the kind of girl I found to be molded by mainstream media and peer pressure in this school. A typical teenager unaware that there’s a world outside Midtown High, a dangerous one.

Under Liz’s black jacket was her cheerleader costume. As she stomped toward me, her ponytail bobbed right and left, showing how reluctantly she was following Flash. The couple arrived first, and to take control of the conversation I chose to greet them first.

“Hey, Flash.” I graced him with a beautiful smile, and waved. Liz glared at that. She felt insecure around me due to my allure and attractiveness.  I didn’t know why the poor girl assumed I wanted her man. Since he came to apologize to me six weeks ago, Flash has been coming to speak to me more about sport, how his life at home was and I also saw him say sorry and protect the one he bullied from others who had taken the slack from him.

But I knew his attempts at trying to befriend me were just ways to 'bring me back into the fold' with the cool kids. He was still vain like that, thinking that this hierarchy in the school mattered to me.

Flash… flashed me his signature good looking guy smile with gigawatts to spare. “Jean, good afternoon!”

I turned my eyes toward the blonde at his side, raising my chin. “Allan…”

“Grey.” Her glare intensified.

The poor Liz Allan owed me her new position of cheerleading captain, and was more busy than usual. I took care of a certain Amanda Smith who had waged a campaign of bad rumors pertaining to myself, of course it was all slander. I had to dig up her activity and start a rumor of my own, one that in fact wasn’t one. The cheerleaders organized after game private orgies with the football team.

I simply cloaked, becoming invisible and took a polaroid camera. I had fun taking compromising pictures of everyone getting it on. My first reflex would have been to cover the walls of the school with them but I decided to not drive those girls and players to suicide or something such and I simply let an envelop with the pictures inside on the principal’s desk, strongly compelling him into calling the parents of everyone and to expel them all.

With carefully disseminated rumors, I let everyone know what happened. Even though the school had wanted to keep everything hush hush, everyone now knew what happened. One of the reactions this has caused was that all the things said about me seemed to have been dismissed and everyone was more neutral toward me.

Back to Liz Allan, the new cheerleader team was even more supervised now, because of that previous bad business. It has caused the faculty and teaching staff  of giving more awareness on sex-ed to the student body, and damn- those classes were embarrassing. Poor Patsy came back at lunch one day red like a tomato.

Liz was now the new cheer team captain and under even more scrutiny, her best friend, Mary Jane had followed her to help her; that redhead was strangely a good friend but an utter bitch to those she considered beneath her. 

The new captain had suspicions that I was involved in what happened to the previous team; my stunt of revealing their secrets when they tried to make me 'know my place' when I first got here last year was still legendary and in the mind of everyone. She wasn’t the first one to have made that leap in logic.

Some of those smart cookies were wary of me, with reasons. 

“So what do you want, Flashy?” I finally asked. I have a date with a cute asian chick and I will be damned if I missed it.

Flash passed his hand in his hair, hesitating before speaking. Liz Allan kept glaring at me as if I had stolen her first born.

Flash found his balls and was about to speak. “Hum… Jean, I wanted to ask you and…”

But he was interrupted by my favorite spider. “What’s Flash doing here? Grey, is he bothering you?” Peter stood between me and Flash.

With his short brown hair flowing in the wind and hazel eyes boring into the ex-bully, he stood defiantly up to Flash. I couldn’t understand the guy sometimes, and I am a telepath. One moment he was being an asshole to me, and in another he was all protective, acting like a knight.

“Nah, Pete he was telling me what he wanted.” I touched Peter’s arm and let weak feelings of appreciation and peace flow. His body posture that was coiled like a spring relaxed little by little.

Flash wasn’t deterred by the aggressive interruption. Peter was one of the first people he apologized to, and of course the spider didn’t buy it, but grudgingly accepted it. Aunt May raised a good kid. So far, Flash didn’t relapse in his bad habits. It seemed that my little calibration stuck.

“Hey Parker.” Flash genuinely was happy to see Peter, the two of them were friends with Harry Osborn to various degrees. I still don’t understand why; the guy was a fucker. He was vain and thought that his daddy’s money would always save him or something, and he dated Mary Jane Watson- a sure sign of his character to me.

Peter glared at the jock. “You…”

He was interrupted by another feminine hand on his other arm, turning his head toward the person he shut up and held his tongue. I smiled, Gwen was finally there and she controlled Peter like the puppy he was. Did I forget to say that he looked like Tom Holland? But he has more of a bad boy atmosphere around him since his uncle died.

“Hello, Gwen.” Flash recognized one of the girls he considered my ‘hangers on,’ and his smile was more subdued with her.

“Eugene.” Gwen gave him an elegant nod, there was a smile on her heart shaped face and her blue eyes were twinkling.

Flash winced, he was going with the nickname Flash as he hated his first name. A small smile appeared on Peter's face at the jock’s discomfort. Jessica, Cindy and Patsy arrived and the crowd was suddenly too much. It was time to cut short this charade.

“So Flash, what was it you were about to say before mister broody interrupted you?”

Peter looked hurt as he stared at me, his puppy dog eyes wide. “Hey!”

I gave him an evil smile and he glared at me, not really seriously. He knew that I liked needling him. It was one of my new past times since he and Gwen migrated to my circle of friends at lunch. I tried- really tried- to see past his emo-like tendencies and see the geek and budding scientist behind all the self loathing he felt.

“Shush, Pete.” Gwen whispered to him.

Flash gave me a nod of approval, still assuming my friends were like his : my underlings. Even though I helped him turn a new leaf he still had those assholistic behavior.

Flash coughed and began to lay out his cards. “I wanted to invite you and your friends to the halloween party at Harry’s.”

One of my eyebrows raised. “Osborn?” 

I hated the guy- him and his father on sight. He had a hard on for Peter which creeped me out. Flash chuckled at me, “You know another one?”

I harrumphed, “Yeah but let’s not go there, one moment please.” I raised a hand, interrupting him as he was about to talk. 

He nodded and Liz placed a possessive arm around his waist, making him look at her. He reciprocated, making her happy when he kissed her brow.  Then she looked smugly at me as if it mattered that Flash was affectionate with her.

My gaze fell on the asian girl who had subtly moulded herself to me, her left hand already in mine. She beamed a smile at me and felt all gooey inside.

“Cindy, love, would you want to go?” I asked her loudly enough.

I didn’t hide my relationship with her at school, however, I compelled everyone to stay silent about it at school beside my friends. I know how her mother in canon had reacted to her having a secret boyfriend, so what would be her reactions if she knew her daughter had a same sex romantic relationship? I don’t want to know, but I took… precautions.

Cindy smiled, her face now close to mine she briefly kissed my lips and said, “Sure.”

*What a little minx.* I smiled back at her.

My head turned to my best friends. “Jess, Pats?”

“Urgh, do we have to?” Jessica asked in a whining tone, stomping  her foot on the ground and crossing her arms sulkily.

I rolled my eyes. That girl needed a social life. Fortunately, I could count on Patsy to steer her big sister on the right path.

Patsy lunged at her sister, held on one of her arms, jumped up and down excitedly and asked with a cute smile, “Sis, let’s go it might be fun!”

It took ten second, but she caved as her sister imploring gaze got through her. “Fine!” She raised her hand to placate the girl.

<Sucker.> I said to her through our telepathic link as I looked at her with a shit eating grin. Jessica glowered at me, harrumphed and ignored me, it made me laugh harder.

It was Peter’s turn and when everyone looked at him, he shrunk on himself, ready to refuse. “Sorry I-”

“Peter, you are going with us.” Steel coated my voice. 

He looked defiant as he met my eyes. The poor boy thought he could stare me down? I let my eyes slightly glow, then a smile quirked on my lips. 

He rolled his eyes, but he was the first to avert them. He sighed heavily, still reluctant. “Yes, okay I’m going. Only if Gwen-”

He banked on the fact that Gwen might want to study instead of wanting to come; he would be dissuaded of that, as I looked at the short blonde girl she instantly sunk his excuse, “I will be available, don’t worry Pete.”

Peter clicked his tongue, and mumbled something about the women in his life. It made all the girls present, including myself, giggle at his troubles.

Coming back to Flash I told him, “We are coming Flash, if it’s a halloween party I suppose that we must come costumed?”

Smiling, Flash held tighter on Liz. “You’d be right, Jean.”

Giving me the address, he told us to look cool. I almost thought that it was a Carrie scenario, but as I perused through their thoughts I saw that their invitation was genuine. Apparently, I was an ‘in’ girl at school now. *As if I cared.*

The meeting devolved into platitude and the two boys present tried to out-testerone each other, but the gathering broke as Peter had to take his bus. Gwen’s mother came to pick her up and I had to bring Jessica and Patsy back home. 

I was super excited because of my date with Cindy. It had to be perfect.  She claimed shotgun before anyone else and entered the copilot side.

Jessica rolled her eyes at Cindy, and Patsy shook her head, giving me a sidelong glance. Yes, it was time to try to bring Cindy on board with my secret. Now was the moment to see if she could handle the truth about me. I’d have to break up with her if she couldn’t. 

# # #

 

Regal UA Midway
30 minutes later…

 

It didn’t take long to drop my friends off home, and to drive to the Center. Cindy and I bought M&M's and candies that we stashed in our bags before going to the theaters. I had been making my queendom there since Jessica and Patsy showed me it's wonders and now I went to do my shopping here. Though the mall SHIELD had stashed us in still looked as good.

After a good dose of begging on my part and doing everything she wanted, mom had decided to trust me and lifted my punishment, but I still had a curfew of 11 PM. It allowed me to talk with Cindy on the phone or work on my notes, about what I wanted to do for my startup company and my plan to free innovade from hatred and bigotry. I started to gather knowledge and useful skills that would allow me to reach the first steps of my goal.

I first began by siphoning knowledge and skills from Doctor Wright who had a doctorate in genetics and pharmaceutical science. When she had begun examining me for her research, I jumped on the occasion to replicate her knowledge. Copying so much information had given me a small headache but now I had everything needed to start up when I would be older. I had also done the same for the computer and mechanical engineers of SHIELD and the class of agents called infiltrators that deal with breaking and entering without people knowing, as well as collecting information. 

Thanks to my new knowledge, I also found a lot of... Hydra plants. I was compiling a mental list of all of them in my mental palace and the room dedicated to my mental diary. I couldn't take the risk that anyone found a physical copy, after all SHIELD has bugged my place and they often do searches… extensive ones, everywhere in the penthouse. I had no privacy, a problem I needed to mend. 

It wasn't time to talk shop; my awaited second date with Cindy was here! We were in the queue before the counter, deciding which movie to settle on. 

Cindy poked my arm, then pointed at the poster with Will Smith written on it 'Independence Day.'

"This one?" I had a knowing grin on my face.

Cindy nodded, her eyes lit up with excitement by the prospect. "Yeah, I've been wanting to go see it since last summer." She then held on my hand, her body close to mine. 

I already knew how the events in this movie were going to happen, but the smile and eagerness of Cindy got to me. The choice was made and then I asked her, "You like Will?"

She was attracted to men too I realized, Cindy wasn't bi but more pansexual in my opinion. It did not bother me, because I knew that it was me that was in her thoughts all the time. An advantage in being a telepath. 

"Yeah, he is funny." She blushed, brushing back her short hair. How cute.

Cindy and I advanced as the queue was clearing fast. So did the people, taking advantage of the booths selling candies and popcorn.

"You have excellent tastes, Cindy." I praised her, kissing her on the cheek.  "Of course." She said smugly with a posh accent. Then chuckled with upturned eyes as she looked at me.

I too chuckled at her antics. We quickly went into the theater room, and as we filed to our seats I found it different how going to the cinema was in the 90's compared to the two thousands; you could bring your food and not be forced to buy the expensive food sold at the theater. But to stay in the spirit of the classics, we still bought a popcorn bucket for the two of us.

Cindy took my hand in hers and dragged me to the darkest part of the room in the last row of seats, while I lugged the popcorn bucket with a lot of butter. Fortunately, there weren’t a lot of people maybe twenty or so that were playing catch up like Cindy.

“Argh I hate those promotional ads before the movie starts.” she crossed her arms and pouted while biting her lower lips in frustration.

“You saw nothing yet.” I said enigmatically.

Cindy tilted her head confusingly at me, shrugged and began to stroke the inside of my palm with her thumbs. The girl often ignored some of my quirks, I didn't know if that was good or bad.

About the constant bombardment of ads, those will get even more ludicrous in the coming years. The consumerism that is slowly taking over the USA and the rest of the world will cause the famous crash of 2009, but I think in this dimension it could happen at any moment as the events have been different from my other self’s prime world. I will capitalize on it, of course.

Placing the popcorn bucket between us, we slowly talked about things; her life with her strict mom, her passion with hockey and the stress she felt when her parents pushed her to become more ‘studious.’ The poor girl had it rough, my heart felt for her, so much that I put a hand on her arm and promptly began to stroke it slowly. 

Cindy leaned her head on my shoulder, then it was my turn to speak about my life. I began with Annie, my first friend.

“She was the sister I wished I could have, sure I had my elder sister but it didn’t feel the same. I could be myself with Annie and never be judged.” I could still hear her bubbly laugh and see the impish light in her eyes as we ran after her frisbee in her back garden, she was so full of life and adorable. 

Cindy's hand found mine, held it and tightened in support. "You miss her." She observed, her amber eyes shining with sadness, and her expressive face full of compassion. 

Life would be truly different if Annie was still here. But I would have been unaware of the dangers stalking me and been caught flat footed when Sinister would strike.

"Terribly so." I admitted, linking together our fingers. 

"Wherever she is, she may be looking out for you.  Don't be sad. She would want you to live your life and be happy, right?" Cindy reasoned.  And you know what? She was right; Annie wouldn't have liked to see me like this because of her.

In fact she would kick my ass and bring me outside to play by dragging me by my hair. I told Cindy a sanitized version of my own thoughts. "She would tell me to stop moping and have fun."

The asian girl giggled."That girl, I like her. She sounds like fun."

"She was a bundle of joy." In a violent way.

We kept silent for a time until my eyes fell on Cindy's heart shaped face, her lucious pouty lips and beautiful amber eyes. Without my input, Cindy covered my lips with her own and we gave in to our lust until the lights dimmed and the movie started.

I sulked as she stopped kissing me and cursed the movie's timing. But nuking the theaters wasn’t the solution, so I would have to be patient. Closing my eyes I leaned in my seat in defeat and sulking silence.

Cindy laughed at me and waved her hand at her body. "Don't worry Jeanie, we will do it again."

I turned my eyes to her, she was being playful, but through my empathy she felt, flattered that I found her so attractive and wanted to kiss her so much that we could lose time simply doing it. It was at this moment that I felt that our relationship would certainly bear fruits and go farther than induced lust given by teenage hormones. 

*One day I would get my hand on this tight body.* I bit my lips as I took what she said as a promise.

But I didn’t need to sound so eager! I needed to control myself. I breathed in and out, while the aliens arrived on Earth on the big screen.

I lowered my voice. "Sorry I just… just can't stop thinking about you."

Cindy looked pleased, smiled and leaned to say, "You are in my thoughts too, all the time." And nuzzled my neck, leaving a kiss that electrified me.

This girl was going to kill me! And break my inhibitions... 

So, we spent half the time watching the movie, flirting, eating; though the popcorn bucket was almost empty by the time Will Smith and Jeff Goldblum exploded the mothership. I’m surprised those aliens didn’t know what an I.F.F. was, or else the humans would have never won, there was no scans for differing lifeforms in their ship either? When I’m going into space I will not have such a problem…

“THAT WAS AWESOME!!!” Cindy stood and jumped up excitedly, as the two pilots who blew up the mothership showed up while smoking cigars in the desert and everyone amongst the minor characters in the movie ran toward them.

Someone in front of us turned and looked disapprovingly at my girlfriend. “Shhh!”

Cindy put a hand before her mouth. “Sorry!” She said sheepishly.

Cindy made me smile again. She was so adorable when she reacted this way. We stayed till the after credits, and went to the toilets of the cinema to freshen up; standing guard for each other when we did our business. You never know with the big city; bad things could happen to you anywhere.

It was 18:04 PM when we exited the Regal cinema, heading to look for coffee at the Burro Cafe on 72nd avenue. I wanted to get to know Cindy better before taking her home. I parked my car before the establishment but I saw that it was currently full through the glass showing the interior. I clicked my tongue in annoyance, hating to have to wait in line.

This was one of the nearest cafes near my home,but also the most frequented. I still searched for Starbucks but I didn't see any of those.

“Do you want takeaway coffee?” I would have prefered to go in and have a booth to speak with Cindy, but it seemed that it wouldn’t be today.

She thought for a brief instant about it before nodding. “Yes, something sugary please.”

I hummed yes. “Kay, stay in the car.” I let my hand run down Cindy's arm.

With a husky tone, the asian girl said, “Waiting for you.”

“Good girl.” I took my bag with me and exited the car, my eyes briefly leaving her.

It was at this moment that I felt a strange feeling of animosity targeting me. I didn’t dismiss this feeling. Someone was looking at me from a distance and was at the edge of my mental detection field. I didn’t like that.

I got back into the car, put on my seatbelt, starting the engine. This pronounced feeling of dread became even stronger but I didn’t know why.

Cindy looked confused. “Huh, Jean weren’t you-”

“Change of plan we need to get you home now.” I didn’t even look as my TK automatically helped buckle safely my girlfriend’s seatbelt.

Cindy didn’t understand what just happened, she didn’t strap herself in. I felt her confusion at my sudden change of behavior.

“What? Why?” Cindy panicked.

“I can’t explain right now-” I felt a vehicle speeding on the road behind us. It was clear the driver was intent on crashing into my car.  

Instantly there was a force-field around my Camaro and the black van impacted it.

CRASH!

Even though I protected us, the hasty force-field couldn't save us from the force of the impact that jangled us on the sidewalk. Cindy screamed, but I cocooned us safely from the windows shattering. For just a moment everything stilled, as I swiftly reinforced myself with psionic energy. As my hearing cleared I heard the noise of footsteps coming toward us.

"Quick check if they are still alive!" I heard a masculine voice.

<Look for the redhead> Another one, feminine this time, vocalised telepathically. 

Someone began to hammer on my door and then it suddenly opened. A guy obscured by a sky mask and black clothes tried to take me out of the car but I ejected him with a TK push, using all my force.  It was like watching a man being turned to splatter by being slammed by a semi-truck.

I checked on my passenger, noting she wasn’t wounded! Great. But I have to ask, “Cindy are you ok?”

Cindy groaned in pain then looked all around her. “Jean what’s happening?!” Her eyes bulged out of her eyes.

I didn’t have time to deal with an irate girlfriend.“Don’t have time to speak, but they are after me, I want you to run.” I reinforced this idea by wrenching open the car with my mind.

Cindy’s eyes widened even more. “H-how did you do that?”

I shook my head. “I will tell you if we survive this. Now go!”

Cindy looked at me for a while, her amber eyes searching in mine. Then she listened and quickly exited the car. Just in case I dedicated a part of my will to follow her to keep a bead on her. I was pissed, so much that I let psionic energy cloak my entire body and exited the car. There were already bystanders watching everything unfold.

“Come out girl!” One of my assaillant shouted.

They didn’t attack Cindy, so it’s me who they really wanted.

<Yes, come out little pet.> The same feminine voice called out.

I slowly exited the vehicle, and patted myself, shards of security glass were all over me. Cracking my neck, my gaze focused on the six armed assailants. One in particular attracted my gaze. It was a woman whose body seemed to glow intermittently as if there were two people at the same place. The men pointed their rifles at me and one of them ordered, “Come quietly girl, the client wants you unarmed.”

“You broke my car.” I was angry. 

I tried to sedate them to render them all unconscious, but to my dismay they stayed upright. Interesting; someone was shielding them, the woman?

<I see, you are just like he had said, a telepath.> The woman smirked at me.

When she snapped her fingers, the men around her neared me. <I guess you are going to resist... then we will have to damage you a little bit. Gentlemen?> The annoying woman’s voice grated on me.

One of them walked closer and then opened fire on me.

 

# # #

(Cindy Moon)

 

“Oh my god, Oh my god! They are going to kill her!”

Cindy couldn’t believe that she just abandoned Jean like this, but her girlfriend had asked and Cindy herself was scared. But she didn’t go too far, and after feeling like a coward she came back as she was worried for Jean. She came upon the scene of this group of people trying to catch her girlfriend. 

Ratatatata.

But at the last moment a red glowing wall surrounded the redhead’s body and the bullets either deflected or smashed against the force-field. The bystanders all fled while screaming, some were even caught by weapon fire and fell.

Zing. Zip. Zip. Zing.

The men in the ski masks stopped firing, all frantically searching for where she disappeared to. She reappeared, hitting the shooter  with a flying back kick in the face. There was a sinister crunch and the man dropped like a sack of brick, then Jean rolled and took the assault rifle the man had wielded in hand. The other men panicked and fired on her, but a glowing force-field appeared again, the ricochet of the deflected bullets impacted the right tires of her foes’ black van. 

Then Jean fired at them in turn with the rifle she had picked up, scoring a hit in the lower body of one of the shooters.

To Cindy it was as if she was suddenly thrust into an action movie and her girlfriend was the star. Why would she fight? What did those people want with Jean? All those questions passed through her head. The redhead got back up and just… blurred to the third guy and hit him with a series of left and right jabs where you could clearly hear bones being broken. One, two and he was down.

The feminine attacker lunged to Jean but she found herself being thrown in the black van’s door, glued to it by some invisible force.  

*What the hell?!* Cindy hid behind a lamppost as more impossible events occured before her.   

Ratatatata.

The two men on the left fired at Jean with panic. She waved her arms and the weapons were wrenched from their arms and at the same time she blurred toward them again, and jumped to elbow the man on the right in the neck and with another sickening crack he fell. Jean didn’t stop here as she performed a wheel kick. The last man fell on his back, and Jean moved to straddle him, and began to pummel his head repeatedly.

Cindy ran toward Jean to stop her, and when she almost reached her Jean held her turned and held her hand in the air. The asian girl felt herself being lifted from the ground spreadeagled. When Jean looked at her finally, she saw the eyes of someone used to dish out the kind of punishment she just saw.

“Cindy, I told you to run.” Jean’s voice was cold. 

Not deterred at all, she glared.“D-did y-you think I would just lea-ve you?”

Though she did still feel  afraid and became a bit traumatized by this experience.

Jean’s gaze gradually became softer and her voice warmer. “Huh, it’s true you are that kind of brave person.”

Cindy didn't know Jean could be sure of such a thing, they barely opened to each other.

Jean put Cindy down and then abruptly the black haired girl hugged her. The redhead didn’t know what to feel. “C’mon Cindy, I have this woman to… interrogate.”

“Ahem, ok.”

Cindy followed Jean as she strode up to where the woman writhed and struggled. A white glowing humanoid form extracted from  the body of the woman and leaped toward the black haired Cindy who stood there paralyzed. But just before the weird glowing being reached her, Jean caught it with a hand wreathed in red energy. Cindy stepped back, her girlfriend had some sort of aura around her, the white glowing person struggled from her grip.

“I think I know you.” Jean tilted her head.

<Unhand me!!> 

Cindy stepped back when she felt a headache, her nose bled a little bit. When a red shield surrounded her it suddenly stopped to ache, Jean briefly looked at Cindy who nodded to her knowing that her girlfriend looked out for her even in that situation.

Jean’s eyes glowed green, and the entity slightly recoiled. “I don’t think so. Hmm, you seem to not be human at all, a psionic construct? Where did I hear about you before… Oh! Malice?”

The being stopped clawing at Jean’s arm, shocked.  

“So, still a slave of Sinister?” The redhead asked.

Cindy knew that Jean was a total badass before, but this took the cake. She knows she should be afraid, running somewhere away from her, but took root beside her girlfriend. . Jean looked at her again, smiling with a reassurance that warmed her heart.<I AM NO SLAVE!!!> The being keened.

Jean laughed at it. “Potato, Potahto. It doesn’t matter, I will take from you what I want.”

The red energy around Jean snaked toward the glowing being until it was completely enveloped by it. It struggled, it screamed, it begged. 

“I see, so this was a probing strike. You thought that you could just attack me and jump body to retreat and try again? Sorry, but I will send you to Hell now.” Jean mumbled, but Cindy understood everything.

For the first time, the black haired girl saw undiluted rage in Jean’s expression. Cindy doesn’t know how to describe what happened just then, but the red energy turned yellow and orange and a keening cry rang in the air as the white being dissolved little by little until it became nothing.

“Phew, and we’re done.”

“Jean why did this happen?” Cindy asked. Jean flinched at her voice. 

“Cindy…” Gone was the super kickass redhead, and there was the normal Jean that she knew and liked.

It was really strange to Cindy, to witness such a dichotomy. She wasn’t deterred by what she saw. Jean was the first woman she had ever felt this strong about, and she wouldn’t let things such as fear make her step back from this wonderful girl. Her mother’s voice was telling her to get away, but she liked Jean better than her mother anyway.

Cindy ambled to the redhead, caught her arm, her amber eyes filling with wonder as she stared at her.  “You’ll tell me, right?”

For once, Jean didn’t chicken out or give excuses. That’s what she would have done to someone she wasn’t sure about, but the moment she felt Cindy’s feelings everything changed. “I have superpowers.”

“Hum… I noticed?” Cindy couldn’t still believe it, but she saw her girlfriend defend herself as if she was Wonder Woman in real life. Alongside the lust she felt, she asked herself what else was there out there? 

Jean frowned, and waved at all the people on the ground. “And there are bad people after me, as you can see.”

The bystanders had all fled, even the cafe where they had been had closed their door. It was a typical human reaction when danger was around.

Cindy shook her head, giving Jean a lopsided smile. “Doesn’t matter.”

“It’s dangerous.” Jean stepped toward Cindy.

“I could get killed at any moment, the world isn’t safe.” Cindy stepped in turn.

“You are so stubborn.” Jean growled.

The two girls were now nose to nose and lost themselves into each other’s eyes.

“Good, you like me this way.” Cindy nodded, as she tiptoed on her feet, the young woman placed her arms around Jean’s neck and kissed her as if her life depended on it.

They were lost in a kiss that robbed them of their senses of time and awareness of their surroundings. Jean didn’t even feel when a familiar man walked up to them and interrupted their moment.

Cough.

Jean and Cindy turned to the person daring to mess up their sweet time. Cindy was about to say something nasty when Jean stopped her and hugged her to herself and greeted the black suited person, and said with an innocent smile,  “Hi Phil.”

 

# # #

(Raven Darkholm)

 

She was perched on a powerline, her vision having captured every moment of this fight. Raven found this young mutant powerful and completely merciless. She was a shoe-in for the Brotherhood! Another one for the cause. This redhead, and her leader needed to meet- maybe, just maybe, hope remained for the junior team of the brotherhood. 

The mutants she had gathered at Bayville so far weren’t up to the task to give trouble to Xavier’s children. She looked on as the black suited men of SHIELD began to clean up and load the girls into a van, taking them to an unknown location. 

Raven followed, needing to know who that girl was. She spread her black wings and flew after the racing vehicle.