Wanted Mutants

Chapter 18

“Kari, are you OK?” Her world was all of a sudden blinded by light, and she sat up in Blake's hand.

“You were squeezing me pretty tight there…” yet again his eyes dropped to the ground, “Blake, it's OK, you don’t have to be scared or upset. I’m fine.” She stood up in the palm of his hand,

“It's not that I…” she noticed that his eyes began to roll as he stumbled, “When this happens… I get vertigo…” his body slowly collapsed and as he hit the ground it shook and a giant plume of dust stirred around him. Kari slowly floated down to him, and she turned to see the others running up.

“Kari, what happened?” Ragnarök and the others ran up to her,

“He has vertigo…” A few of them looked puzzled while Gears stood giggling.

“Well, a giant who is afraid of heights.” She pulled out a data pad, “I’m going to call the doc out here. He may be able to fix Blake.” She typed a few things in, “I can take care of this. The rest of you head back.” They all nodded and turned to leave. But Ragnarök tapped Kari as he walked up beside her.

“Hey come with me.” he walked back towards the training field, “I wanna talk to you for a sec.” as she followed him she heard the sound of the car driving off, “So do you like Gabriel?” she felt her face heat up,

“Well that’s difficult to explain… its confusing.” She began to fiddle with her hair, and as she did, he stepped closer to her, “I…”

“Are you sure? You look at him like you do.” He seemed to be messing with her, “OK, here’s a better question. Do you like me?” he took a step closer, and she took a step back.

“Yes!?” before she could stop herself, the words left her lips, “I mean… I…” her face burned as her embarrassment started to surface. But he chuckled and grabbed her hand softly,

“That’s what I thought. I figured... every time you look at me, you blush.” She tried to hide her face, but he prevented her. “It’s OK to be bashful. But I understand why I am older than you.” She looked into his eyes and she stuttered,

“It’s not that... I've never had someone shower me with attention like you... My friends did, but it wasn't like this...” She pulled away from his grip, and she floated out of his reach, “but with you…its…” a smile spread across her face, “It’s nice.” She looked down to see him blushing as he tried to hide it,

“Stop that now you got me doing it too.” He turned his back to her, and she floated down beside him, “We should get back before we are missed.” His voice sounded stern, and she nodded, “Alright, there’s a jeep over here unless you want to fly back?”

“I will ride with you.” He nodded, and they walked towards the parked vehicle. It was a short drive back to the compound. They pulled into the garage, and he turned the jeep off.

“Well, I have a meeting to go to, but you should join the others.” He hopped out as he walked off without her. Her heart seemed to calm itself as soon as he was out of sight. She sighed as she ran her fingers through her long hair. ‘This is harder than I thought.’ She climbed out of the jeep, and she headed to the living room. When she got there, Jinx was sitting at the counter watching Benito cook. Devastation and Discharge sat playing some type of board game.

“Kari, you're just now getting back?” Jinx gestured for her to come sit beside her, “Where did you run off to?” she playfully tapped Kari’s nose.

“Ragnarök wanted to talk to me….” Jinx chuckled as she cut Kari off.

“The damn beast is on the prowl again.” She picked up a glass of water off the counter and took a sip. “You see I know our leader and well…”

“He is never satisfied ” Devastation walked over and leaned against the counter, “He likes to have at least a new girl every six months or every year it's different for each one.”

“And after everything’s said and done they all hate him. What's the current girl count?” Jinx turned to Devastation,

“Six or Seven.” Kari looked down at the counter. This new information unsettled her. “All we are saying is, it's best not to get too close to him. It ends badly for most.”

“They all get burned in some way…” Discharge sat down beside Kari as he spoke, “He is good at burning bridges, not good at building them though.” Kari tried to hide her disappointment.

“Lunch is served” a mechanical voice chimed over them all as Bentio set the tray of plates down. They all grabbed one when Ragnarök walked in with a smile on his face.

“Oh boy, this should be good…” Jinx whispered in Kari’s ear, “Why so happy boss?

“I am officially single once again, me and….” He paused for a moment as he tried to recall something,

“Carmen.” Devastation spoke as he began to eat,

“Yup that’s her.” He walked over and grabbed a plate, “It just didn’t work out. I mean she is into wood and trees, and I'm well… well too hot to handle…” he seemed to make himself laugh while the rest of them groaned in pain,

“Your jokes are terrible.” Jinx flipped her hair at him, “You are always playing with girls' hearts, when are you going to learn your lesson?” he snorted as he forked food into his mouth, “One day you're going to date a girl who tames that fire and when she does. You, my friend, will be in trouble.” She turned away from him and Devastation laughed,

“She makes a point. One day you just might grow up.” They all laughed as Ragnarök stood scowling,

“I am a grown man, there is nothing left to improve upon. I am perfect.” Discharge flicked some food at him,

“Far from perfect my friend.” While they all bickered, Kari sat staring blankly at her food as she slowly ate. When she finished, Benito took the plate, and she nodded at the robot. “Finished so soon?”

“Yea I was going to…” she felt their eyes on her, and she stopped, “If you have something else for me to do I will do that instead…” they all looked confused when Ragnarök spoke up,

“It's OK, you are free to do as you please in your downtime.” She quickly walked off before he could take it back. When she got to her room she went and sat on her bed. Her mind raced as she played back the morning in her head, 'is he just playing with me? Am I just a conquest to him?' she sighed as a light knock echoed off her door.