Chapter 10: Chapter 10- Playing the game, and Experimentation
POV-Andy
By the time the Cuckoos had come back to the MU to promote their Inner Circle, both my family, as well as Sage, Fade, Lorna and Marcos had decided to work for them, promising to send supplies to the MU, as John, Clarisse and a few others like Shatter and Trader didn't like the methods they employed. While most of the heavy hitters had moved over, I knew this would be temporary, 'Get what we want, then take Reeva's throne.' Part of me considered letting one of the sisters into my head, granting me an ally with similar knowledge, but without their loyalty, it wasn't worth the risk. Apparently, the high-rise tower was currently being furnished and prepared, and considering the powers that would be residing there, I was glad for the added durability.
"Home, sweet home," my tired tone managed to seep out. The manor was still impressive, both in size and luxury, and would do well until the tower is prepared to have powerful mutants testing their abilities in it.
"At least we'll have more private rooms," Sage noted.
"That's great for you Sage, but Andy and I need to sleep in the same room unless someone can create an identical copy of our family relic."
"Uhh, no. I'm sure they can shove two beds into a room. Especially considering the size of the rooms. And if not, they can order new beds."
"Actually," The Cuckoos said, "We have already prepared a shared room for the both of you. We understand better than most, the situation you're in. Separate, but interlinked."
Thanking them we move to our room, large, with two modern Queen-size beds, nearly side by side except for the small space used to hold a bench table, which we immediately place the music box on, and I rolled around on the bed. After sleeping on a camping cot, anything would have been more comfortable, but this was pleasure.
*brzzt*
"Andy, you've got a text. Get up."
"It's the Frosts. At least they're keeping out of our heads as they were told."
"Told? Aren't they kind of our bosses?"
"Not for long and they know it. I've got a coffee date with triplets how fun," I said, eyes rolling and the monotone in my voice revealing the lack of interest. At any other time I would have been somewhat enthusiastic, but today, after almost a week of convincing people to listen to me, working and then returning to an HQ that never sleeps, polite was the best I could manage.
"Too bad you can't get an actual date."
Ignoring the smarmy nature of her taunt, I reply, "You find me, someone of similar age, that's mature, and isn't my sister and I'll consider it."
"I take it we'll be single for a while then," she laughed. "Go. Before they decide you aren't going." The shove off the bed was unnecessary, but I left, trying to remember where their section of the house was.
*Knock knock*
"I'm here to have coffee with the most charming triplets I know."
Opening the door with a small smile, one of the sisters opens the door, presumably Sophie, as she had a lack of confidence in her body language compared to the more social Esme and the more aggressive and feistier Phoebe. Something I wanted to test.
"Sophie, right?" The look of surprise on her face notified me of my correct assumption, "Can I come in or are we all planning on standing in the hallway?"
"It's impressive that you can identify us, most struggle even after long periods of time, simply calling us by a collective," Phoebe commented, but the flash of anger told of how deeply frustrated she was by having a teenager better recognise her and her sisters than her own colleagues. People she'd known for years.
"Well, I can't very well get to know you if I can't do something as simple as recognise the person I'm speaking to."
"I guess we won't be needing to wear marking accessories then," Esme said while making coffee for the four of us.
"It may be helpful in combat situations, but no, I think we should be fine." Taking a seat on one of the four chairs that surrounds a low, teak table, 'Probably for talks such as this.' "So why did you want to see me?" I ask, taking the coffee from Esme with a thank you.
"What do you know about the Hellfire Club?"
"Planned to provide a safe haven for mutants, opposed the X-men, often committed terrible crimes for the sake of profit or amusement."
"And of your family's involvement?"
"I knew they were part of it, just like Magneto, Lorna's father, whether she admits it or not. With the power of Magneto and Fenris, there is no excuse for not having removed the opposition, except arrogance, stupidity and deceit."
"There were circumstances that prevented-"
"What kind of circumstances can affect a mutant like Magneto who can pull the planet out of alignment, and level a city with a moment of concentration? They failed because they didn't want to succeed, they wanted a war they could win. To be Homo Superior. They wanted to rule, and to profit, not to protect or save. Or this war would have been finished decades ago."
The sisters sat there drinking their tea, having a silent discussion based on the brief flashes of blue. "That power must drive people insane. To have all three of you talking in a conversation no one else can hear. Impressive though, one day my sister and I should be capable of the same."
"Sorry," Esme started, "We were discussing what you said, and we can't find any strong arguments denying your views on it. What are your views on the X-men?"
"Pathetic, weak, and doomed to fail. They were always on the defensive, and despite having some of the most powerful mutants alive, provided little to the world other than defending against the Brotherhood and the previous anti-mutant forces."
Phoebe put down her cup, and posed a question I had been hoping for, "If you knew a location of mutant suffering would you help the ones held there? Destroy the facility?"
"If the mutants held there are stable enough to live freely, they should be allowed to do so, but some of them are volatile and dangerous to themselves and others. And I wouldn't destroy a building that may serve a purpose, otherwise, I'd have to pay to rebuild the damn thing." Seeing a nod from the feisty sister I continue, "However, those that caused the harm and torment would be killed, perhaps publicly after revealing their crimes to limit public retaliation. If we can show that only the vilest of people are being killed, publicly at least, there will be some who believe we are in the right. We can summon an uprising."
"And if we can't convince them? What then?"
"Once we have removed the Sentinels, we would remove the Purifiers, limiting the open slaughter those savages would cause. Select a location, isolated enough to be separate but without causing shortages of supplies, and provide safety to those within it, becoming an international powerhouse that is stronger than any other nation, taking their missile defences for ourselves and signing agreements with powerful trading countries such as Australia and some of Asia. If people can't be convinced that we are the solution, the future, you could try to brainwash them, unsuccessfully, or simply prove them wrong."
"And how would we hunt down the purifiers? They're separate, and hidden like rats in burrows."
"I think rats have nests," I offered, "but finding one of their leaders is extraordinarily simple." I lean in towards Esme, whispering near silently in her ear, "Your boss knows one of them well." A gasp from Esme as she recoils in shock causes the others to tense, ready to force their way into my mind. "Relax, please."
"I'm fine, just…alarmed by the possibility."
"Is that a good enough show of trust, if you find it to be true?"
"If you're not lying, you'll have my trust, but if you're lying-"
"You will go through my head? Fair enough," I offer my hand at the deal, having to shake thrice was annoying, but I wanted them to think separately, as the more I treat them as people compared to Reeva who uses them as a tool, the bigger the comparison they will draw. Finishing the rest of the coffee, I ask, "Have the former circle members been removed yet, or are they still alive?"
"How'd you-? Never mind, not yet, but in the coming weeks as the tower is finished they will be cleared out," Sophie explained.
"And will we be expected to do anything until the old members are removed?"
"No, our boss has limited the information she has provided to the others, worried that they will try and take advantage. So they can't know who came across from the MU."
"Well then, I may as well continue helping the MU until we're going to do something right? What kind of idiot invites a group of powerful mutants and stuffs them in a house for weeks."
Sending a text to John, the only person from the MU that I actually trusted to not spam my phone, and who was kind enough to give me the guitar from the storage that I'd been using. 'I know it's average, and the Inner Circle would provide me anything I want, but this one is the first.' "They don't have any missions for us for a bit, so if I'm not training, more than happy to help move people or whatever. PS. The cartel job is still on as far as I know, so the supplies should still be coming in, but don't get reliant. Steal if you have to."
*brzzt*
'Seriously that was nearly instant.' "Thanks, I'll let you know when we have a big group being moved. Thanks for the help, stay safe." 'Aww, how sweet.'
Headed back to my room for a nap after saying goodbye to the Cuckoos, I walk past Sage who was simply excited to have access to new computers and hardware, and after explaining the resources she'd been provided in her room, I was a little miffed, but understood that they helped with her abilities. Both Lauren and I were provided with things we were known to like. I was given a tablet, for sketching, which I still did occasionally, drawing scenes from the memories such as important figures and places so that I wouldn't forget, and as I suspected a guitar. Lauren meanwhile was given a collection of books and a tablet of her own. For both of us, however, was a small stack of textbooks covering molecular physics as well as chemistry, perhaps to help us generate ideas for new applications of our powers. They held my attention for almost an entire minute before I completely ignored them and fell asleep in my bed, well I think it is, seeing as it isn't covered in clothes. 'I'm fairly confident my wardrobe will change greatly now that I'm here, and probably for the best considering my old clothes were getting worn out anyway.
'Gunfights, exercise and the professional fugitive lifestyle really limit the life expectancy of clothes.'
After a few hours asleep, I'm woken and taken to my first actual cooked meal in weeks, and apart from some burgers Marcos and I picked up after jobs, the first real food too. An actual steak, cooked rare just as I like it, with fresh vegetables in a garlic butter sauce. The food was amazing, and the looks on those from the MU, who'd spent years suffering for the cause were almost enjoying it too much, especially Lorna and Fade, almost vying to compete for the most inappropriate dinner sounds.
"So what are you planning to do while we're here?" Mom asked, trying to restore what little communication we used to have even before all this happened.
"Probably work on minimising the effort I need to create the burst of flame, and the speed and force of my blasts. There's not much to do here, apart from train and play the guitar."
"There's a pool here," Fade informed, pointing out the direction and that bathing suits were already in our rooms.
"Sweet, I can work on split concentration work while relaxing, nice." 'If I can push the water to create a dry space within the pool, and hold it, even while doing something else, that should improve my ability to subconsciously control my powers. The intent is key.'
While the weather wasn't great, being a cloudy mess of wind and rain, the indoor pool facilities, with a heated pool and room, provides me with all the motivation I need to get changed into shorts and dive into the water. The indoor room even has TVs across the wall like a sports bar, 'these people have far too much money.' Swimming laps in the pool was relaxing, 'I haven't been able to go swimming since we went to the beach last year, and I hate sea water, too open, and the irritation of getting salt in the eyes makes it far from worth the effort.'
Creating a cube of space at the bottom of the pool, only one cubic foot in size, completely free of water, pushing the water out within the space, and maintaining the space. This requires constant concentration and effort, as gravity plus the liquid nature of water attempts to fill the vacant space. The task wasn't particularly tiresome, but I knew that maintaining this space would wear me down within minutes.
Days passed like this, as I enlarged the area I was making vacant, and by the end of the week I had managed to lift the entire pool a foot in the air, partially flooding the room, but with a casual swipe of my hand, I could force the water back as if a broom had swept over the floor. A minor effort, but one I would have to perform if I didn't want Fade complaining about the constantly wet floor. After achieving this level of maintained control, able to hold the water from the space for over an hour before needing a short break, I began my real reason for working in a pool, subconscious control.
Again creating a one cubic foot vacant space at the bottom of the pool, something I could perform nearly indefinitely if I could focus for long enough and didn't need to sleep, I hold the space and begin to swim around awkwardly, struggling to maintain the control. At this point, Fade walked in.
"All week in the pool and you still swim like a drowning dog."
"I'm trying to swim while holding a foot of water out of place, so yeah, I'm struggling to do both," I retort, venom in my words as the effort of having a conversation causes me to have a slip in focus, the water creating a weird sound as it slaps into the space. "Fuck."
"Ah, that's one of the issues with manipulation abilities. While generally more powerful, they take time to become proficient and even more to earn full control."
"I've been finding that out the hard way. Even with my progress, it is taking a while."
"Have you been spending all your time training? Fade asked incredulously, his dark eyebrows pulled together in concern. 'He's such a softie as long as you don't act as a double-crossing spy.'
"Of course not, I'm only in here for four hours a day, then an hour in the gym, and the rest I spend reading, sketching, or playing guitar. If I spent all my time training, I think I'd burn out. I never was any good at studying for long periods of time. But thanks for caring enough to ask." He muttered something as he headed for the sauna.
Continuing on with my training, I had managed to get up to a fairly normal speed and technique while holding up the one cubic foot, but I knew that progression from here would take a while. So, I came up with a genius plan, 'If I can hold, move or interact with things, admittedly much lighter than the water, while going about my day, I will build up the necessary subconscious control.' And so, the week progressed, no longer spent in the pool, but exercising, playing the guitar, and spending time with family, I was manipulating objects in patterns, interweaving and increasing speed, testing both my subconscious control and my ability to accurately and dexterously manipulate objects. While everyone else relaxes and enjoys the break from constant stress and a constant never-ending stream of mutants needing help, I cannot. I know the groups that will come into play, and if I plan to provide a better, safer society for mutants, I need to be strong enough that no one attacks me, and those that do, will be crushed so brutally that none follow in their footsteps. 'Von Stuckers are meant to dominate, to conquer and rule, just as Andreas and Andrea were designed…I don't plan to let down that legacy.'
POV- Lauren
This time away from it all was nice, spending time with Andy and our parents, hanging out with Lorna and Sage whenever she decided to come out of her bedroom that looked more like a control centre than relaxing, but eventually I got bored. We all did. While Lorna and Marcos were just happy to be in a safe environment, I had gotten used to the constant issues of the MU, even in the short time we were there. 'Maybe I could have stayed and helped, but as Andy said, "If they rely on us, they will collapse in our absence."' Speaking of my brother, who'd managed to maintain his ridiculous training schedule the entire time we'd been here. For weeks he'd spent over 6 hours a day training, and while the training seemed ridiculous at first, it was hard to argue with the results. 'I've managed to compress the air into blades, and begun to compress harder materials like water, making it temporarily solid under my feet, however, I could never have the dedication and sheer force of will Andy has.' He's my brother and I love him, but if he was my enemy he would be truly terrifying.
"Hey sis," Andy's voice reached out to me as he walked over carrying his guitar. By his, I mean the old but well-maintained one I had borrowed from the MU, not one of his three ridiculously expensive ones.
"What's up? Normally you'd still be training."
"I decided I needed to focus on manipulation and dexterity more than sheer volume," he said with his teeth shining in the sun as he smiled. Behind his back I could now see a pair of spinning tennis balls, something that would take me concentration. 'So this is what he meant by subconscious control…I need to start working on it too.' Looking at my expression his face became softer, warmer, comforting even as he hugged me, perhaps feeling my shame and discontent at seeing him progress so far ahead of me, "I'm not going to leave you behind little sister."
"I'm older than you idiot," I say smacking his chest, but he'd nailed it. I was terrified that he'd move on, from the MU, from our family, from me.
"Still smaller," he said squeezing me tightly against his rapidly developing body. Before we joined the MU, he had been skinny, borderline anorexic, but now between the training he's been doing and the new diet, he had put on muscle. Not huge, and by no means at the level of John, but he now looked older, more mature, he even sounded different. He wasn't alone in his changes, Both of us now had the same near-white hair, something I could never have imagined for myself or for Andy, and while he had grown to around 6'1, making him the second tallest after Fade, I had gone from 5'2 to 5'7. Something was affecting our biological makeup and I had a feeling it was our great-grandparent's DNA. 'Andy said they were created in a lab, bred to become weapons, and if what he said was correct, and he now often was, we were becoming more like them. Apparently, that meant losing some of the baby fat I'd held onto for years and making my jaw not quite as square, so cosmetically, I was all for it.
"So, you'll be spending more time out here with the rest of the world? I ask with a teasing smile, having repeated the same phrase I used to use when he'd coop himself up in his room drawing or whatever else he was doing in his room, 'Don't think about him doing it, don't think about-.. Fuck, now I won't be able to avoid thinking about it.'
"I guess so," he said casually, looking at me strangely. "Are you alright, you can't look me in the eye and your almost radiating embarrassment and shame?" 'God, I hate how quickly he changed, both physically and mentally. It's like he's a new person, tall, confident, strong, caring, and kind, and I can't keep up with him.
"I'm fine Andy, just had a thought pop up into my head that threw me off guard." He looked down at his guitar and started playing something casual and light, but I could feel his emotions just as he feels my own. Embarrassment, shame, like myself, having probably guessed what kind of thoughts I was having, as well as frustration, something I could relate to entirely. We sat like this for a while, talking as he played the guitar, trying desperately to move on from the moment.
'If Andy hadn't threatened the Frosts about their mental explorations it would be FAR more embarrassing, but the idea of anyone discovering my current thoughts was almost too much to bear. I found a discussion post on the first Fenris twins, and I was beginning to think maybe we were more affected than we first believed.'
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone