Wanted Mutants

Chapter 20

Her world was dark like she was floating in a black space, when she heard voices,

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN ITS GONE!” Kari heard that voice before. It was the voice of her mother, and she knew that tone never meant a good thing.

“Not just the experiment but the people responsible.” She could also make out her father's voice as well,

“HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN!” she could hear her mother pacing loudly, “THEY HAD TO HAVE HELP. SO TELL ME WHO DID THIS!”

“You know who did it.”

“That vile misguided brat… have I not given everything to her…” Kari felt her mother’s rage as it began to frighten her, “And if that wasn’t bad enough… she left her child for me to raise… Curse my sister…” as the words echoed in the blackness her head buzzed with questions. But as she tried to process the information her head began to hurt and she woke up. She laid on her back staring at the plain ceiling. Her head was pounding, as she slowly sat up. As she looked around she remembered that she had escaped her family and that she was sitting in her room at the mutant compound. ‘That’s right, I live here now.’ She slowly got out of bed. She noticed a basket full of clothes sitting at her bedside. A small note read,

"These are for you. The doctor sent your sizes over, and I found you some clothes. You enjoy. - Jinx" she grabbed fresh clothes and headed to the bathroom. Once dressed, she headed out of her room. As she opened the door and walked out, she slammed right into Blake. They hit the ground as their limbs got tangled,

“Good morning Kari.” She laid underneath him as they tried to untangle themselves when jinx walked out of her room.

“Oh love in the hallway this early…” She rubbed her eyes as she yawned,

“NO we just fell I swear.” At that moment, a repetitive beeping tone started as it seemed to resemble a heartbeat.

“Calm down, I know. And remember what the doc said, keep your heart rate under that number.” Jinx walked past them as she headed downstairs toward the kitchen. As they got back to their feet, Blake quickly walked down the stairs. Kari followed behind slowly. Once downstairs, everyone was accounted for except the leader.

“Kari.” Discharge walked over and gave her a bucket, “It's your turn to wake him.” As she took it she felt the weight of the ice water. “He’s the last room down the hall.” She slowly turned around and headed back upstairs. Her soft footsteps echoed in the hallway as she stopped in front of his door. She slowly turned the door knob as she quietly walked in. The soft morning light drifted through the window as the rays of light laid against his golden-tan skin. The room was decorated by a few paintings and plain cream walls and carpet, with dark crimson curtains and bedsheets. His deep breathing let her know he wasn’t awake or even close to it. She slowly walked over to him, but the closer she got, the hotter it seemed to get. She looked down at him but as she was about to pour the water on him, he shifted and sighed as he seemed to mumble something. She leaned closer in an effort to hear him, but as she did, she noticed how hot his skin was. However, she couldn’t help but stare at his handsome face, and she began to think to herself.

‘He can’t be like twenty-four at maximum… no that’s still wrong’ she stood up straight as she clutched the bucket to her chest as she stared at his face. ‘But he’s so kind to me…. Or is it a lie?’ she began to lose herself in thought as she turned her back to him and closed her eyes. The world seemed to fade away as she stood lost in her own head, ‘Kari get it together! Harley always said I was pretty… then again Harley said a lot of things that made me feel good… I miss you Harley…’ a tear rolled down her cheek ‘but if you were here you’d probably tell me to follow my feelings.’ forgetting where she was she sat down and she heard a grunt,

“Well… this isn’t a bad way to wake up…” she jumped at Eric’s voice and the water in the bucket spilled all over them. She instantly got up as she shook some of the water off,

“Im so sorry I didn’t mean to…” he flicked water off himself into her face,

“Ya know that’s OK. Most days I get a shower in bed. This time it was more like a sprinkle.” He slowly sat up, and the covers fell to his lap, revealing his bare chest, and she caught herself staring,

“Um breakfast is ready…” his eyes met hers, and she instantly looked away and she backed over to the door, “I’ll be um… downstairs…” he looked at her from his bed as she sheepishly tried to leave,

“You know you’re really hot and cold around me. If I didn’t know better, that means you have a crush on me.” She froze in place as he chuckled,

“But…” she tried to speak, but her face burned with embarrassment, “Its just…. I don’t…” he pulled the cover from his body as he stood and stretched. He wore long pajama pants as he walked over to her.

“That’s right I wear clothes in bed just in case someone comes to wake me up.” He reached for the door knob as he stepped into her personal space. “Careful where your eyes wonder… keep looking at me like that, and you’ll force me to go against my better judgment.” He whispered softly in her ear as she shivered, and her eyes fell to the floor. “But to let you know something…” he gently raised her chin, so her blue eyes met his golden, “I want you to look at me…” his face hovered just out of her reach as he spoke in an alluring voice, making it hard to resist him.

“But…” she sounded so weak as she tried to pull away, but her body didn’t react. His fingers radiated heat as his eyes turned from solid gold to molten gold. Their faces were inches apart.

“I’m going to let you go before I do something reckless.” He backed away from her, and he sighed, “Even if I want you… you still have to want me too.” She slowly twisted the door knob and left as his words still echoed in her mind. As she hurried downstairs to breakfast, the others waited for Eric to come down screaming and stomping. Yet he was very calm and collected as he grabbed his food.

“That’s a first…” Jinx sat staring at Kari as Eric sat and ate his food quietly. Everyone looked at him strangely, but then things slowly returned to normal.

“Why is it strange Jinx?” Eric lifted a glass of water to his lips as he cut a stare at Kari, and she instantly looked at her plate,

“It's just I’m not used to you coming downstairs so calm and collected in the morning… its just bizarre.” Discharge and Devastation nodded in agreement,

“You also look a bit drier than normal…” Discharge hinted at the fact that Kari was soaked,

“Looks like the water ended up on someone else…” devastation ended his analysis.

“I didn’t dump a bucket of water on her if that’s what you're asking…” his words were cold as he forked food into his mouth.

“WE didn’t say you did.” Devastation handed his empty plate to Benito, “Just saying the water is on someone else.” Eric smirked as he took another sip of water,

“Well be lucky, it's just water, it could be something else.” Jinx, Discharge and Devastation looked at him with disapproving eyes,

“That’s wrong man.” Everyone finished up breakfast and headed off to get dressed. When everyone was ready, they sat on the sectional.

“Alright.” Eric stood up, and he pulled out his data-pad, “Time to train… today we will be running some test to see if you two can actually keep up with us. The first test is an obstacle course you will both need to complete within a certain time. Blake and Kari, this course can be completed without the use of abilities jinx and Gears are testament to that.” They both nodded as the team looked on with hope.

“You guys should do great.” Gears stuffed a cookie in her mouth,

“Yea, it's not that tough to just get from point A to point B without dropping the cargo.” Jinx stood up and walked over to Eric,

“Right, so here are the rules… you each will be given an object that you must protect. You will be running from the enemy. In this case, you two are going to practice in the simulation room first, where all trainees train. Once we feel you are ready, you will start going against us, then other teams. Do your best because hard work starts now.” They all left to suit up.