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WHERE NO 'BLAZE HAS GONE BEFORE.... Part One: Next Generation written by Multi-Facets 0xxxx)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>j>
Dedicated to X-plosion, Nate1234, Lady Saint-Croix, and of
course, Bizzy my brotha. Thanks for believing in me. And a special, very very
grateful THANX to Tigrr Wildcat, for without her, this trilogy woulda
been trashed.
The Massachusetts Academy....
"What? Did I sprout another head or somethin'?"
Krys Barrow, aka Hellblaze, the ultra-charged bio-kinetic manipulator of the mutants-in-training of Generation X, stared at her teachers and teammates and awaited an explanation to their slack-jawed shock.
Sean Cassidy/Banshee shook his head and got his mind back on track. "Ah.... Sorry, lass," he apologized in his thick Irish accent. "It's just.... yuir uniform."
Krys glanced at the uniform she had spiced up with the molecular-rearranging aspect of her bio-kinetic power. The red spandex was now a skintight leotard with a zipper up the front and a high neck that crawled up the sides of her face, stiffened and surrounded the back of her head and masked her eyes, leaving her long, light brown hair free as it trailed in a braid down her back. The once-bulky gauntlets, gloves and boots clung to her muscular limbs like a second layer of thin flesh. However, the blue team belt was the same.
"What about my costume?" Krys asked innocently. "It gives protection while lettin' me move freely. Besides, Jubilee wears her yellow coat all the time, Skin wears his uniform in shorts-and-jacket style, and Chamber's is black. Anyway, I just thought t' personalize mine a little."
Sean chuckled. "Ye have a point, lass," he said kindly. "Ye can keep yuir uniform the way it is."
"Thank ya, Sean," Hellblaze said. "So what's the game plan?"
"I'll tell you about it on our way," Everett Thomas/Synch stated helpfully, leading Krys to the Danger Room with the rest of Generation X following.
"If it had not been for that insidious Hellblaze, I would have Penance and the rest of Generation X as my slaves to feed on!" the villain Emplate roared, throwing a chair across the room. "But instead I have nothing but useless knowledge about her power!"
His servant -the little gray man called D.O.A.- leaped out of the way of the flying furniture. "Sir, please calm down!" he cried in his small, snively voice.
"I will not!" Emplate howled. "I will not calm down nor rest until I have a way to shunt Hellblaze from this reality forever!" He froze suddenly, and D.O.A got the impression he was smiling wickedly. "And with the knowledge I possess of her power, I will."
He walked with the effortless, graceful silence of a martial arts master, or maybe a shadow. Clad in a black leather jacket, black jeans, black boots and black bandages, he certainly looked the part of the shadow.
He stopped in front of a door in the girl's dorm, lifted an uncertain hand and knocked. "Hold on!" Krys' muffled voice called; a minute later she opened the door. "Oh, hi Jono!" she greeted cheerily.
Jonothon Starsmore/Chamber nodded his head in acknowledgement of the greeting. *Can I talk to you?* he inquired in his ghostly British accent.
"Oh, so this isn't a social call," Krys said, catching the seriousness in his mental tone. "Y' wanna talk privately, right?" she questioned. Jono nodded again, grateful that she understood. "Okay, jus' let me kick my other guest out," Krys answered jokingly.
"Hey!" Paige Guthrie/Husk's voice protested from inside the room.
"Relax, Corny! I'm not gonna kick ya out literally," Krys quipped, turning her face away from Jonothon and glancing into the room. "Just go, okay? We'll finish the rest of this girl talk later, I promise."
"All right," Paige said reluctantly. Jono stepped aside as Krys opened the door wider and let her teammate out.
Paige brightened a little when she saw Jonothon. "Hi, Jono," she called as she walked by.
*Hi, Paige,* Jono returned, watching Paige as she walked down the hall to her room.
Krys felt Jonothon's heat signature heat up. Way up. Hmmmm.... she mused, and let Jonothon into her room.
Jono glanced around, taking it in.
The room was cluttered with furniture, art supplies, half-finished and finished art products, books and posters. A computer, printer/scanner, two medication bottles and Silly Slammers(TM) were settled on a white desk in the corner.
"So what can I do fer ya, Jono?" Krys asked, flopping down on her rumpled bed and stretching out. "Siddown and talk," she offered, patting a space beside her.
*No thanks,* Jonothon responded.
"Your loss. I've got a waterbed," Krys said. She made a gesture and sent a minute force-bolt of bio-kinetic power at a CD player on her bedside table. The power ricocheted off the "play" button and Fleetwood Mac's "Little Lies" came on. "So what's so urgent ya had t' talk t'me in private?" Krys inquired, relaxing completely.
*Do you remember the day Emma interviewed you, asking about your powers?* Jonothon questioned.
"Yup."
*You said you could heal wounds,* Jono continued.
"Yes, I did. What's the point?"
*I was wondering.... could you possibly heal me?* Jonothon finished in a rush.
Krys slowly sat up, staring steadily at her teammate, piercing him with her light gray eyes. "What's t' heal?" she wondered after a short period of silence.
*This, remember?* Jonothon said, grabbing the bandages on his face and yanking down, exposing the roiling bio-kinetic core that was his power and curse.
Oh, right. Stupid question, Krys thought sheepishly. But: "Jono, I've said healing exhausts me, and sometimes it doesn't work," she stated. "Gimme a good reason why I should try it on you."
*Because.... I want to be able to talk with a real voice,* Jonothon began, baring his soul. *I want to laugh and eat, and smile.... and breathe again. I want to be able to sing without sounding like a ghost. I don't.... I don't want to be.... a freak.*
"You really hate yourself, don't you?" Krys inquired with a sigh. "People never realize that although the body is damaged, the soul is still whole," she added after another short silence. "You're afraid a' somethin', too. What's t' fear?"
*Myself,* Jonothon whispered after a long quiet.
"I see," Krys murmured. "Tell ya what: I'll attempt to help ya in stages, and..... Hey. I just got a brainstorm. You have bio-kinesis, right? I could teach ya everything I can do. But you'd have to commit yourself."
Jono looked interested.
"So, deal or no deal?"
Jonothon thought it through for a while. Then, he looked full into Krys' eyes and said, *Yes.*
Krys grinned. "Good," she said, grabbing Jono's hand and shaking it firmly. "We have a deal. We'll start tonight. The first thing to do is make you immune t' your power and start reconstructin' major organs."
*You can do that? Make me immune to my power?*
"If I can turn off a power, I can certainly try t' make you immune."
The next day in White Queen's office....
"Thanks for agreein' t' meet with me, Sean and Ms. Frost," Krys said, sitting in the padded chair in front of Emma's desk. "I wanted t' ask a favor of you two."
"Go on, lass," Sean urged gently.
Krys drew a deep breath. "I want t' become Chamber's teacher," she said on the exhale. "I feel like I can be the one t' make a difference with him."
"What makes you think that, Hellblaze?" Emma inquired.
"It's perfectly logical: I'm a bio-kinetic manipulator, he has a bio-kinetic core he could harness and use," Krys responded, arranging her solid frame more comfortably in the chair. "My sister taught me just about everything I know now, and I can pass that on. Maybe it would help."
Sean considered while Emma weighed out the pros and cons in her mind. "How do we know that Jonothon's power won't have the same effect on his metabolism as it does yours?" she asked.
Krys winced. Ouch. Hey, hold it: What "his" metabolism?
But the White Queen had a point. Because Krys had so much power and routinely drained herself without meaning to, therefore putting a great strain on her metabolism, she ate a lot and had become an "energy vampire." She often had to drain energy from electrical systems or plant life, ambient energy or people (she tried to avoid draining people) to restore her own. Once, by accident, Krys had almost killed Chamber by draining his energy after an.... explosive fight.
"You're right t' remind me of that, and you have a good point, Ms. Frost," Krys stated. "I don't know if Jono will become an energy vampire like me. If he does, we'll have t' help him try t' control it, like you two do with me. But if he doesn't become like me, we're all pretty damn lucky. I think it's a risk we've gotta take. Do ya really want a loose cannon like him walkin' around untrained?"
Sean laughed out loud after a short pause. "Lass, ye should study tae be a lawyer," he chuckled. "Ye're very convincing. As far as I'm concerned, ye can be the lad's teacher."
"I still haven't said 'yes' yet, Cassidy," Emma growled, twisting a pen between her fingers.
"That's why I said 'as far as I'm concerned'," Sean replied, unruffled.
Krys smothered a laugh. Barely.
Emma sighed. "I never said I wasn't a risk-taker," she said finally. "I give you my permission, Krys."
YES! Krys cheered mentally, then blushed when she remembered Emma was a telepath. But Emma didn't seem to take note of that little mental outburst as she dismissed her student.
She glanced sideways at her co-headmaster. "And I believe that we have our own group of students to attend to?" she said pointedly, getting up and heading out the door.
Sean followed.
"So where's Hellblaze? I owe her for fryin' my jacket the last time we worked out," Jubilee asked as her teachers prepared the training session in the Danger Room.
"She's workin' wi' Jonothon today," Sean answered.
"You will have the chance for revenge later, Jubilation," Emma added arily.
"Em," Sean said warningly. "Now everyone, we're doin' something a wee bit different today," he continued. "We are gonna be lettin' ye let some energy out before we proceed wi' the formal session."
"Meaning what, jefe?" Angelo piped up.
"Meaning we get to act like rambunctious children and beat each other up while our teachers play referee," Monet Saint-Croix/M said.
"This is gonna be good," Jubilee declared with a devious grin.
"Just don't beat me up when I fry your new jacket," Everett quipped. Skin laughed.
"Come on, guys. Can't you be a little serious?" Paige sighed, absently playing with a lock of her long, golden-blonde hair.
"That's asking far too much of those two, Husk," M deadpanned.
"'Sides, Banshee said it wasn't supposed to be serious," Jubilee pointed out.
"Did I?" Sean asked from the Danger Room control center/monitoring room. "The point is tae let all the action out without hurtin' anyone. Now get ready," he ordered. The kids arranged themselves in a wide circle. "Go!"
Immediately Jubilee whirled and threw a volley of "paffs" at Skin, who was already diving out of the way. The blast hit Husk instead, seconds after she morphed into a metallic form. The "paffs" ricocheted off her and slammed into M's back just as she took to the air to avoid a sync-aura hammer attack from Synch. M was knocked out of the air and she fell on top of Skin. Instantly he entangled her with his fingers. Synch paffed them, both having synched with Jubilee. Skin yowled and let M go and she tackled Synch. He fell onto his back and sent her sailing over his head. She landed hard, gave a disgusted snort and went to pick on someone else.
Meanwhile, Husk was sparring with Jubilee, and losing. Jubilee's gymnastic skills were keeping her out of "danger." With a whoop, Jubilee did a front flip and landed on Husk's shoulders, bearing her to the ground. Husk kicked Lee on the back and Jubilee fell forward, letting Husk go. She stood and took off.
During that time, Synch and Skin had become tangled up in long trendils of thick skin. "This sucks," Skin grumbled, tugging futilely at the skin wrapped around Synch's thigh.
"I know what you mean. I feel like a pretzel," Synch sighed, giving the skin wrapped around Skin's chest a yank. Abruptly M was looming over them with a wicked grin on her face. With no effort, she plucked them off the ground, floated upwards and hung them on the basketball hoop. Jubilee noticed and roared with laughter. "Good goin' Monet!" she called.
"Thank you," M said smoothly.
"M! Get your sister off my back!" Husk yelled suddenly.
"Can't you take care of that yourself?" M said. "No: She's really on my back and I can't get her off!" Husk replied.
M shot a quick look at her teammate and saw that, indeed, her conjoined sisters in the cursed Penance form had jumped onto Husk's back for a quick "piggy-back ride". Trouble was, she was holding on to Husk's front with her wickedly sharp claws. A potentially dangerous situation.
"It's a good thing I'm in metal skin," Husk muttered.
"You are a little too old for piggy-back rides, Penny," M said with affection, striding over and pulling the stubbornly clinging Penance away.
That's when Jubilee "paffed" them all and blew them to the ground. "I win!" she cried, punching her fist into the air.
"All right! That's enough," Sean said from the control room. "Re-group and get Synch and Skin down from the hoop."
"Awwww, do we have to?" Jubilee complained.
"YES!" Skin, Synch, Banshee and the White Queen yelled in unison.
Jonothon glanced around the area, taking in the hastily-improvised obstacle course, the various punching bags, the thick blue mats on the floor, the assorted objects around the room and the red-and-white targets stationed on the walls. *You're going to put me through target practice, 'Blaze?* he asked, somewhat scornfully.
"It's how my sister taught me; it's how I'm gonna teach you," Hellblaze countered from the ceiling, where she hung upside down by her knees from a rafter, hanging up a target. Satisfied that it would stay there, she let go with her knees, flipped and floated the rest of the way down. "I've got an obstacle course of sorts on the ceiling too, which is where you'll practice midair agility and speed once ya get there," she continued once she had landed and straightened out her baggy purple T-shirt and dark blue spandex leggings. "The objects are t' practice ghostin' through and ghostin' them-"
*"Ghosting"?* Jono interrupted.
"Oh. You dunno my name for going intangible, do you? Well, now you do," Krys said with a shrug. "Anyway, the obstacle course on the ground is for practicing the boosting physical abilities part, the punching bags are for strength-boosting practice. Heat projecting is what the targets are for. And when you're ready, you'll practice field projecting, healing and power manipulation on me and shapeshifting on yourself. The energy conversion part will come much later. Any questions?"
*No,* Jonothon replied after thinking for a moment.
"Good," Hellblaze responded. "We start with a brisk warm-up to relax a little, then we'll move on to target practice."
That said, they began. Jonothon was actually lightly perspiring by the time they were done.
Hellblaze took a swig from a water bottle. "Time t' take out a few targets," she announced, then whirled and effortlessly threw a narrow beam of heat at a target. The bullseye exploded, sizzling. Krys was surprised. "Wow. Lucky shot," she muttered. Jono gave her a curious look. "I'm still havin' trouble with accuracy," she explained. "Your turn."
Jonothon lowered his face bandages and concentrated, sending a narrow beam of energy at another target, his brow beginning to bead with sweat as he sliced through the bullseye with laserlike precision. Krys was impressed. "Looks like I could learn a few things from you," she murmured thoughtfully.
Abruptly a searing heat crossed over their backs. Krys gasped as her heat-sensing ability was briefly overloaded. Panting, she spun simultaneously with Chamber and beheld....
Emplate and D.O.A. "You again!" Hellblaze yelped. "I thought fer sure I'd fried ya!"
"Not even remotely close," Emplate growled, and grabbed her arm and fed. Hellblaze screamed and tore away, leaving a few chunks of her skin on Emplate's toothed hand. Blood pattered to the ground.
Krys gingerly touched her arm, flinching. No time t' heal it now.... "Oh, you are so dead," she snarled.
*Look out!* Chamber yelled suddenly as he bowled D.O.A. over in an attempt to reach Emplate and stop his attack.
Emplate lashed out with bio-kinetic power anyway.
Hellblaze ripped off a few of her favorite, most colorful British swear words as she leaped away from Emplate's assault, slinging blood onto the floor. Chamber almost laughed as he wondered if his teammate knew what those words meant. "Why don'cha do us a favor and sod off?" Hellblaze growled as she rolled behind Emplate's back and kicked him, hard.
*Do you even know what that means?* Chamber questioned, decking Emplate on the temple and tossing D.O.A. aside.
"My dad's British. Of course I know. I'd translate, but I'd lose my G-rating," Hellblaze explained as she slammed her foot into Emplate's crotch.
*With that move, I think you just did,* Chamber kidded as Emplate groaned and hit the floor.
Hellblaze ignored him as she stood over Emplate, watching him closely and almost daring him to try to get up.
Emplate took the dare. He lunged upward and grabbed 'Blaze's face. She shrieked in pain and grabbed his wrist, reflexively trying a nerve pinch in hopes of making him let go. Emplate just slapped her upside the head, splitting open the skin and making the blood flow freely. Chamber tried a physical attack, but Emplate grabbed the back of his neck and bit with the tooth-ringed hole in his hand. Chamber let loose a screech that echoed back to the Danger Room.
In that instant, Hellblaze was forced to her knees as her skin began tingling wildly, almost like when she ghosted. But then she got the impression of moving very fast.... too fast to handle. She cried out in fear as her surroundings swiftly began to blur and she vanished at hyper-sonic speed. "Chamber! Chamber, help.... me...." she moaned as her energy drained away.
Abruptly 'Blaze collided with a hard, cool surface and lay still as the blood from her head and arm wounds pooled beneath her and her mind slipped into darkness from exhaustion, even as she instinctively sucked ambient energy into her power-starved body and forced herself to heal.
*EMPLATE!* Chamber roared, grabbing his assailant's arm and throwing him over his shoulder. Emplate yelped in shock as he skidded across the floor on his belly and Chamber's mental rage rang between his ears, hurting. *What have you done with Hellblaze?* Chamber gnarled, leaping and landing on his enemy, pinning his hands behind his back with one hand and grabbing Emplate's respirator with the other, silently threatening to rip it off.
When Emplate refused to answer, Chamber gave the respirator a nasty yank. Emplate gagged as the machine pulled his head back and dragged against his face, almost coming off. "Stop! I will answer!" he yelled.
Chamber waited.
"I sped up Hellblaze's motion so much she teleported, in a sense, to somewhere else," Emplate explained.
*That could kill her! Where is she, Emplate?* Chamber gnarled, yanking at the respirator again just as the rest of Generation X burst through the gym doors. *About time you got here,* he added to his team.
"Ghak! I-I don't know, nor do I care," Emplate croaked.
"Jono, lad, what's happened?" Banshee exclaimed.
*Ask the little parasite here,* Chamber responded.
"Oh, no no. Chamber will tell you much better detail. Farewell! I will return," Emplate said cheerily, and began his disappearing act, taking D.O.A. with him.
"No, Marius! Don't go! Get back here!" M hollered, rushing forward and making a grab for him just as he faded completely.
Without anything to sit on, Jonothon pitched forward and got smacked in the face by Monet as they crashed into each other. *Sod it!* Jonothon yowled as he and Monet fell to the mats in a tangled heap.
Paige and Sean helped them to their feet. "Hold it! Where's Krys?" Jubilee asked, glancing around the room and not finding her teammate.
*Emplate did something to teleport her away,* Jono answered flatly.
Krys roused, forced down a moan of disorientation and thought, What th' hell did Emplate DO t'me? My head feels like it was used as bowling ball.... don't even know which way is up, let alone where I am!
Krys began to move, to get up and orient herself, then froze.
There was an unfamiliar heat signature to her right. Slowly, Krys opened her eyes and flicked them in the direction of the stranger.
It stood at a counter with its back to her. Krys tentatively scanned the heat and learned that the person was female, and human. Hostile? Krys wondered. Can't tell.
The lady turned around. "Ah, you're awake. Salutations," she said pleasantly. "How do you feel?" she asked.
"Dis.... disoriented," Krys stammered, sizing the girl up in confusion.
She had to be over six feet tall! Shaggy, shiny bluish-black hair fell to her jawline, and her eyes were a deep gentian blue; wide, slanted and ringed with thick lashes. Her nails were at least three inches long, and splashed with bright colors. A tattoo of claw marks decorated her left cheek and the back of her right hand. "Who are you?" Krys blurted.
"My name is Kelsie McCoy," the lady answered with a smile. With a jolt, Krys noticed she had fangs. Two sets of the sharp little things. "May I ask who you are?" Kelsie continued.
"Hey, I don' know ya or were I am. I mean, I dunno know if y' c'n be trusted! So why should I give ya m' name?" Krys demanded, her drawl getting stronger.
"'Cause we scraped you off the gym floor and got you out of your coma. That should account for something, supposedly," an alto voice interrupted.
Krys jerked her head in the direction of the voice. In the doorway of this strange room that looked like the infirmary stood a slim, well-shaped, emerald-eyed girl. Wavy, glossy, dark auburn hair was ruffled about her oval face, and her frame was clad in a black T-shirt, black jeans and black heeled boots.
"Donna. This is a surprise," Kelsie commented. "What brings you up from the depths of your basement?"
"Can it, furry," Donna snapped. "Ever since Stranger here touched down, I thought I should scan her brain and have something to tell the teachers and the rest of the team once they get back from grocery shopping."
Krys spoke up. "No one enters my brain without my permission," she informed Donna.
Donna shrugged. "Too bad for you," she said. Then her eyes widened in shock. "No way," she muttered. "No way. That's not possible."
"Nothing is impossible," Kelsie rejoined.
"Shut up! You sound just like my father," Donna bit out. "If you were a telepath and saw what I saw in Stranger's brain-"
"You read my mind?!" Krys yowled indignantly.
"-you wouldn't believe it either!" Donna finished, letting Krys' interjection slide.
"I am a scientist," Kelsie proclaimed with great pride. "My mind is open to all possibilities."
"Fine. Stranger here is Hellblaze," Donna announced.
Kelsie gaped. "Th.... the fellow Generation Xer of our esteemed mentors...." she whispered inquiringly, sagging against a counter.
"Who vanished." Donna completed the thought. "It's her. Her mind checks out."
Kelsie stared at Krys while Krys missed the conversation and glowered at Donna. "Mind witch," she muttered.
Donna eyed her. "You can't insult me with that," she stated matter-of-factly. "Mindwitch is my codename."
"Donna?" a low, male voice ventured from the doorway. Donna turned and Krys craned her neck around to take a look at the new arrival.
He was slightly shorter than Donna -but only because she was wearing those heels and he wasn't- with expressive, sapphire blue eyes, a complexion as rosy as Donna's was pale, and golden hair that fell to the middle of his ribs.
He smiled, seeing that he had her attention. "Ms. Saint-Croix, Mr. Espinosa and Mrs. Lee are back," he declared.
"Yea, thanks Ian," Donna said in a dismissive manner. Her eyes grew glassy and she threw her thoughts into the minds of her teachers and teammates, telling them about Krys' mysterious appearance.
"Our mutant tracking system has been over the entire globe and found no trace of Krys," Emma said softly to the assembled students.
"How is that possible?" Everett questioned, sitting bolt upright.
"She's got to be around somewhere," Angelo added.
"Unless.... Krys was somehow sent to another dimension or anything like that, if that's possible," Paige said in a small voice.
*It's possible,* Jono stated dully.
"Can Em-pest do that?" Jubilee asked.
"If mutant power doesn't work, my brother can use magic if the need arises," Monet said, reminding them of what he had done to her years ago.
"We've got to keep trying to find Hellblaze," Everett said firmly. "We just can't give up."
"And we willnae give up," Sean told his students.
Back with Krys....
Krys was brought before the teachers of the teenagers she had met. She almost fainted when she saw them, and they, her.
For the teachers were adult versions of Angelo, Jubilee and Monet.
"Okay, we need to talk!" Krys cried. "How the hell did this happen? How did you guys age so friggin' fast?"
"What do you mean? How did you get here?" Jubilee demanded.
"Emplate," Krys answered succinctly. "He teleported me here, I'm guessing."
"That would explain why she never reappeared in our teenage years," Monet deduced.
"Are you sayin' I'm in the FUTURE?" Krys squawked.
"Precisely."
Krys felt her knees give out and she fell onto the hardwood floor. "What happened?" she whispered hoarsely. "What happened?" she repeated a little louder.
Jubilee thrust her grocery bag into a redheaded boy's arms and gently helped 'Blaze up. "C'mon," she said. "I'll explain in the office."
She led her (former?) teammate to Emma's office and sat her in the same chair where Krys had asked permission to be Chamber's teacher.
Jubilee perched herself on the desk. "You wanted to know what happened, and here it is," she began. "It's going to be hard to believe, but it's all real. See, you never came back. Generation X had to go on. So we grew up, got more experienced and finally became the team of Banshee and Queenie's dreams; even more than they dreamed of, in fact. Then life got in the way," Jubilee intoned. "Skin and I fell in love."
"Whoa," Krys mumbled, forcing her brain to accept what she was hearing.
"There's more: Our daughter, Brianna, is a pyrotechnic, so we're coaching her along. To get back on track, Jonothon -who co-led the team with me, by the way- somehow healed and moved away to become a rock star, and more surprisingly, a hero," Jubilee went on. "We missed him. He was one of the best of us. And after Paige founded an Internet-based detective agency and started her own superhero career, she went with Jono."
"Why?"
"They were in love, and they were engaged. They got hitched and later had twins."
"That's great!" Krys exclaimed, forgetting her predicament in her sudden joy. "I mean, I knew Jono had somethin' for the gal and she liked him -she told me once- but I didn't think they'd do anything about it. This is so cool!"
"Isn't it? Donna and Ian are their kids," Jubilee added.
"Even cooler."
"Yea, but don't mention that when you're around Donna. Some sort of family problem," Jubilee warned. "Anyway, Synch left too, to team up with some girl named Gaia and a guy called X-Man."
"He just left?"
"He just left. I think he thought he was in love with Gaia. We hear from Ev now and then, but not enough."
"That's so sad," Krys said.
"Not as sad as the other things I'm going to tell you. Brace yourself: Penance died while protecting Monet from Emplate-"
"That's so sad," Krys repeated. It was hard to feel very depressed, though. She really hadn't connected with the spell-trapped twins.
Jubilee drew a deep breath. "Banshee died from the Legacy Virus-"
"What? No!" Krys cried. "How's that possible? None of us had the Virus!"
"But Dr. MacTaggert did," Jubilee told her. "He caught it from her, and died. He's buried next to her."
Krys lowered her head, tears brimming in her eyes. "He was..... he was like my uncle," she whispered. "He was the one who was teachin' me so much...."
"I know, 'Blaze."
Krys bit her lip and pulled herself together. She would grieve later. She had the present to think about. "What happened to Frost?" she questioned.
Jubilee heaved a loud sigh. "She won't have anything to do with us. She's just sticking to her company," she said.
"Why?" Krys blurted. "I thought.... I mean, nothing could tear her away from us.... I mean you. Whatever! I know the whole Hellions story; that's why she's.... she was teaching," she corrected.
"She took the deaths of Sean and Penance really hard. She gave up," Jubilee said softly.
Krys fumed; wisps of steam rose from her shoulders and back. That is NOT the White Queen I know, she thought angrily. But then, it's the future. Nothin's the same. What else can I expect?
Something else nagged at her and the steam halted. "So how are you guys still in business?"
"Angelo and I didn't want to let the dream die," Jubilee said forcefully. "We got this place going again. We got Monet to be a teacher-"
"Power teacher?"
"No, schoolteacher."
"I thought she would insist on being power teacher," Krys spluttered.
"She didn't," Jubilee responded. "Too many bad memories, I guess. Angelo and I are the power teachers. Paige and Jono stop by occasionally to help out."
"That's.... I can't think of anyone better for the job," Krys commented. "Are.... are any of the kids chrono-varient, by chance?"
Jubilee shook her head. "None," she replied quietly. "You're stuck here."
That's when everything became too overwhelming and Krys broke down, sobbing and releasing her grief.
1999....
Sean entered the Mutant Tracking-Room and saw Emma sitting in a chair, fingers flying over the controls and a determined expression on her face. "Emma? What are ye doing?" Sean asked, walking up to her seat.
"I'm adjusting our tracking system for finer sensitivity," Emma answered, not sparing him a glance. "If Hellblaze is lost somewhere beyond my telepathic reach, this could be the best chance we have of finding her." Her face became grim. "I.... don't want to lose her, Sean," she admitted as she kept working.
Sean sighed. Again, grief over the loss of the Hellions was driving her, driving her to go to any lengths to save a student. Not that it was a bad thing.... He just wished she didn't have to worry so much. Sean knew that more guilt would eat away at Emma if she couldn't find Krys; she would see it as a failure. A terrible failure.
On an impulse, Sean pulled up a chair and sat next to her. "Can I help?" he offered. Emma shot him a surprised look, then slowly nodded and told him what she wanted done. Before she could get back to work, Sean caught one of her hands. "We'll find her, Em," he said softly.
Emma's lips compressed. If only I could be so optimistic, she thought wistfully, but she just nodded again and kept adjusting the machine.
The future....
It was a while before Krys was lucid again. She drew a few deep breaths and wiped the tears away. So you're stuck here, she told herself. Deal with it.
"Are you okay now?" Jubilee queried gently, rubbing her friend's shoulder.
"I'll.... I'll be fine," Krys answered. "I just need.... time. To reorient myself. Get used to this. Can I read your files? I mean, if you have any?"
Jubilee chuckled, struck by a sudden memory. "I remember when you first joined Generation X: You insisted on being alone a lot, getting one-on-one treatment and memorizing our computer files before you did anything else," Jubilee said.
"And a good thing I did, or Emplate woulda eaten all of you that time," Krys reminded her. "Is it all right if I read the files or not?"
"Of course," Jubilee responded, and escorted Krys to the familiar computer room. She left her to read in quiet.
Jubilee met up with Monet and Angelo outside. "So? What's the verdict?" Angelo asked his wife.
Jubilee rubbed her forehead. "'Blaze is adjusting, quickly as usual, but take it easy with her," she said. "She's going to reorient herself for now."
"I would not expect anything else from her," Monet rejoined. "It is rather typical."
"But what do we do when Krys is reoriented?" Angelo inquired. "She's the living example of an anachronism. How's she gonna fit in?"
"She never really did belong in the first place," Monet pointed out.
"Why? Just because her power level was a little higher than some, or because some of us were afraid of her energy vampirism at first?" Jubilee shot back.
"She was -is- a self-proclaimed loner," Monet argued.
"How do you know this, seņorita?" Angelo inquired reasonably.
Monet was suddenly confused. "I.... remember," she said.
"How?" Angelo demanded.
"I'm not sure. That is the puzzling thing," Monet replied softly.
"We'll think about this later," Jubilee interjected. "Right now, we need to talk to Next Gen."
Krys was never more grateful for her ability to speed-read than at that time: It saved her from becoming thoroughly bored with a history of the school, A.T.L (After Teachers Left.) When she finished, she accessed another file: the one about the people that now attended.
These musta been written by Monaco, Krys mused as she glanced over the ones about Jubilee, Angelo and Monet. They're so organized and well-composed.
She opened the file on the students, and the first one that sprang up was about Donna Lillith Starsmore, codenamed Mindwitch. It said that she was seventeen, and a telepathic bio-kinetic manipulator. That's not very shocking, Krys thought as she skipped over the girl's height, weight, eye and hair color. "Brief History: Raised largely by the Thomases, her foster family." Why didn't her parents raise her? "Her power activated the moment she was born. Realizing this, her father, Jonothon Evan Starsmore/Mindblast-"
"'Mindblast'?" Krys echoed. "He changed his name?" She shrugged. "Well if he did heal, like Jubes said, the name 'Chamber' prob'ly wasn't so appropriate." She kept reading.
"Mindblast partitioned it off until her mind matured and she could use her power properly." Krys read on, intrigued. "While on a shopping trip in downtown St. Louis, her twin Ian Samuel bolted across the street. At that moment, a car raced around the corner and headed straight toward him. Ian did not notice, but Donna did, and shattered the partitions and used her power in an attempt to warn her brother." Krys sat in silence. "Now that's devotion," she stated, and skipped over the teacher's notes in order to get to the next file. But something about the notes written by Jubilee caught her eye, so she read them anyway.
"Teacher's Notes: Donna has mastered a telepathic blow of such power, her opponent will go down with blood leaking out their ears." YIKES! Note to self: Never tick her off. "In time, she could surpass Chamber, and Jonothon went beyond ol' Charlie Xavier in the telepathy department."
Apparently Angelo took over then. "I'm worried about Donna. She's more like her dad than she'd like to admit, right down to the love for music, but Donna's worse in attitude than Jono ever was, and she would hurt me if she heard me say that. I think she resents the way she was raised: with foster parents, rarely seeing her biological ones, and that's made a lasting impression."
Krys shook her head in sympathy and opened the file on Donna's twin, Ian Samuel/Shifter.
"Power: Self-induced metamorphoses. Brief History: Same as Mindwitch's. When Shifter was hit by a car at age fourteen, he was incredibly beat up and nearly unconscious. But instinct drove him to peel off his skin and morph a healed form. Then the Thomases contacted us and enrolled them both. Teacher's Notes...."
Krys skimmed it lightly, but a note from Angelo caught her attention again. "I'm not worried about Ian. He accepts the way he was raised and gets along well with the others and has even started dating Spark. But if he ever hurts my ponchita, I'm gonna kill him."
Krys laughed. "How wonderfully dad-ish of him," she said.
Then, an unusual file popped up. "William Cody LeBeau?" Krys wondered, and kept going.
"Age: 14. Hair: Scarlet/white-flecked, falls to bottom of shoulder blades. Eyes: Emerald green. Power: Flight, super-strength, able to charge various objects w/explosive kinetic power and focus blasts of K-energy through staff. Brief History: Willy is the son of an alternate-dimensional Rogue and Gambit. He was mostly raised by Psylocke, Forge, and a mutant magician called M'lady. He learned early on about his power and was trained well in its control. When he was thirteen, Forge test-fired a dimensional gateway in the middle of a cosmic storm, and Willy was pulled in, ending up in this dimension. He was taken in by this reality's X-Men and enrolled here a year later to hone all his talents and to be with other kids. He is rarely without his waterproof/tear-proof/fireproof backpack, because it holds money, a holographic projector, a personal computer, clothing, objects to charge, a collapsible bo staff and a picture of his family."
Cool, Krys thought. "Teacher's Notes: William is as smart as I am. I am giving him college-level courses." That was obviously Monet. Jubilee's said: "Willy's combat, acting, improvising, observing, lockpicking, pickpocketing and technological skills are formidable." Angelo: "He is adjusting well and is proving himself to be a leader."
"You got that right."
Krys yelped in fright, leaped over the back of her chair and tackled the person who had dared sneak up on her. They hit the floor with a loud WHAM! "Whoa! Whoa! Mon Dieu, calm down!" the boy Krys had pinned yelled.
Krys recognized him as Willy. "Don't sneak up on me like that," she snapped, getting off him.
Willy sat up, rubbing the back of his head. "Hey, it's not my fault that you shut the rest of the world out," he countered.
Krys admitted to herself she was prone to doing that when she reading something interesting. "Sorry," she apologized.
"No prob. I snuck up on Mindwitch once and she flipped me, so I'm getting used to it," Willy replied. "Listen, lunch is ready if you're interested."
Krys' mouth watered. "I'll be down soon."
Willy smiled, nodded and left, walking without a sound. Krys sat back down and quickly read a file on Spark/Brianna Lee-Espinosa. She was fifteen, with black hair and deep brown eyes. She had shorted out an entire mall with the emergence of her power and after that, it was just a matter of starting to train her power, since she lived at the Academy already. She was smart, and there were no complaints about her, and she was madly in love with Shifter.
Kelsie McCoy/She Beast was daughter of Beast and Trish Trilby. She was smarter than Monet and Beast put together, had enhanced agility and dexterity and was a whiz in all sciences. The rest of her mutation was the physical attributes Krys had noticed earlier.
Krys exited the files and vacated the room, confident she would remember all the files had said, and the way to the kitchen.
As soon as she reached the kitchen and beheld the team called Next Gen hanging the way Generation X used to, Krys was hit by a feeling of extreme "I-don't-belong".
It made her feel for lost than ever. And more desperate.
Was there no way home for her?
