Wanted Mutants

Chapter 12

“Um I’m sorry for breaking this.” Almost all the sand in the bag had drained onto the floor. When the glass door pushed open,

“What’s going on in here?” Jinx walked into the room holding a data pad as Kari quickly excused herself and ran off. As if by instinct, she ran to a room and curled up on the bed in the fetus's position. She waited for someone to scold her or even yell, but it never came. The sounds of this new world were still strange and different to what she was used to. It scared her because she cannot predict the actions and thoughts of others around her. They all wore warm smiles and from what she'd gathered they seemed like really friendly people. All she could think of was the worst scenario, the worst possible punishment for being the way she was. When she heard footsteps outside her door, the door opened, but the footsteps were light and a sweet smell floated in the air.

“Kari, I brought you cookies.” Kari rolled over to see Gears holding a tray of treats and a glass with something in it. “Here, have one.” Kari reached for one when she thought, ‘What if it is poisoned? What if they paralyze me? What if…’ Kari moved her hand away, and she sat up straight and cleared her throat,

“No, thank you I’m fine.” Gears tilted her head and shrugged, and her strawberry blond ponytails bounced as she smiled and set the tray down on the night stand.

“Well, I’ll eat them.” She grabbed one of the cookies, and she stuffed it in her mouth, “Are you sure they’re really good? They’re chocolate.” Gears dangle one of them in front of Kari before stuffing it into her mouth.

“Well, I am sorry to trouble you, but I don’t want one…” Gears loudly crunched another cookie. The crumbs freckled her cheeks,

“It's too bad this batch was pretty good.” She crunched another cookie, “well do you at least want some milk?” she held up a glass. It was filled with white liquid,

“Wait what?” Gears leaned forward and gave Kari the glass,

“You don’t know what milk is!” Gears instantly stood up, shocked and confused,

“In the city we don’t have this, we have other things…” Gears grabbed Kari’s face,

“Unacceptable!” she grabbed a cookie and handed it to Kari, “Eat and drink the milk!”

“But?..” Gear stomped her foot and shook her head,

“NO! DO IT YOUR TASTEBUDS ARE AT STAKE!” Gears watched her with wide eyes as Kari looked at the cookie and glass of milk.

“Is this really necessary?” Gears nodded her head aggressively. Kari took a bite of the cookie and her mouth was filled with the taste of chocolate and sweet warm dough. It was sweet but with a crispy crunch and a bit gooey yet creamy at the same time. She took a small sip of the milk and as the flavors collided she took a deep sigh,

“Now don’t you feel a lot better?” Kari nodded at Gears, “Yup, cookies and milk always calms people down. It’s like an instinct. When people smell the two, they instantly calm right down and have some.” Kari couldn’t deny what Gears said, the two indeed have a way of settling troubled thoughts. “Now, let's go downstairs. We are all going to have dinner and hit the hay.” Kari nodded, and she rolled out of bed, “Oh and by the way, I want to know something... Why did you run into Ragnarök's room and crawl into his bed? You two dating or something?” Kari shook her head and her heart seemed to beat faster than her lungs could keep up. “Hey calm down don’t hyperventilate on me.” Kari nodded and took a deep breath.

"Please don't tell him I ran to the first room I saw...." Gears laughed a bit as they left the room and headed downstairs. When they got there, everyone was lounging around doing their own thing. Discharge was sitting on the couch reading a very large book. Devastation and Jinx were playing some type of game. While Gears bounced over to the couch, she pounced on someone.

“I swear pounce on me again, and you won’t make it!” a reddish glow lit up the room,

“Chill out before you burn down the building.” Gears stood up giggling and ran over to the kitchen where Benito the Copper golem was preparing dinner. Kari looked over at the couch to see Ragnarök glaring at Gears. His hair was no longer charcoal black but now a flaming red along with his eyes. Smoke rose from his skin like steam when his eyes caught Kari and his face flushed red. When an alarm went off and the TV flashed. Fire-Fairy appeared on the screen.

“Ragnarök, I challenge you to a duel!” her expression was serious and Kari could see Death in the background laughing.

“Why?” Ragnarök stood up, and it seemed he had calmed down because his hair returned to its black color.

“Meet me in the arena in five minutes.” The call ended and he stretched,

“Well team, I got to go handle this right quick. Might as well get another win under my belt.” The team stopped what they were doing and rallied behind him,

“She knows she can’t beat you by herself. She might ask for a team fight. I think three verses three or maybe four verses four.” Discharge pointed out a few other things and Jinx chimed in,

“We can win if we use Gear’s artillery…”

“No they have a Mastermind, he'd be able to get around that. After all, he’s the smarter sibling. Benito and Plugs would be unhelpful if Mastermind sent out an EMP blast.” Jinx and Discharge stood on either side of Ragnarök as they continued.

“True, our team is not like theirs. They all have abilities that are good for fights.” Jinx sighed, “I’d be no help. I relied on sneaking around and close combat against unpowered targets. Gabe would toss me or fly before I got close. Fire-twerp would burn me or fly away and Death could hide in the shadows, so he’s the factor we need to watch for.” Discharge looked a Kari and she froze,

“You, Kari, you’re in the fight.” Everyone looked at him and Devastation stood up,

“What are you saying she’s never been through training…?”

“Kari, if you follow my instructions you won’t be fighting, we need you to be our eyes in there. You will need to be invisible most of the time and only interfere if you have to. And if you find Death hiding in the shadows, do what you can to keep him busy.” Devastation shook his head while Gears and Blake sat in the kitchen eating.

“I don’t think this is wise, but whatever you say captain.” Ragnarök shook with what seemed to be excitement and his hair turned flame red and he bounced,

“I’m so pumped. My team is Discharge, Devastation and Kari lets go suit up.” the three guys walked off and Kari stood in the living room with Jinx, Gears, and Blake. Kari immediately turned to the others,

"I don't have a suit...." Gears and Jinx glanced at each other, then back at her,

"I could make you one, with the help of my brother." Gears started to fumble through her pockets until she pulled out a measuring tap. "I can take your measurements before the match. I'll have to ask for his help later, but we can probably make you something amazing." Gear smiled, while Jinx seemed to be calling someone,

"I'm going to see if I can find you a basic suit. Cant have you... ya know losing your clothes in a match now can we." Jinx then stands and heads for the door, "Give me like ten, fifteen minutes." Kari stood as Gears came over and took her measurements. Blake looked on worried,

"Maybe... this isn't the best idea". Kari and Blake locked eyes. He genuinely looked worried,

"It's a harmless match. The goal is to work together as a team." Gears tried to cheer him up, "Besides, our leader is a pretty good judge of character... you all are going to do well with us." Gears then pulled a notepad out of her pocket and wrote down Kari's measurements,

"How long have you known him?" Kari looked at Gears as she wrote,

"Well... we have been in this team together the longest." she thought for a moment," He's like my older brother. He's got his faults, but I trust him with my life." Gears then put her notepad back in her pocket, "Just trust the process." she gave Kari a big smile,

"I'll try..." Kari mumbled and Blake sighed,

"He just seems over optimistic..." Blake leaned against the kitchen counter. Gears examined both of them, and she sighed before warmly smiling at them both.

"You both just had your whole worlds shattered... So I get some things ... just don't make sense. But please give it time." Kari gave a small nod,

"It is better than going home... so I'll try." Gears smiled brightly and excitedly hugged Kari,

"That's all I am asking." As Gears pulled away, the front door to the compound opened with Jinx returning looking a bit winded. She briskly crossed the room holding a garment bag. She then handed Kari the bag,

"Go get changed, then come back. The bathroom is right down the hall." Jinx then took a seat on the couch. Kari quickly departed for the bathroom.