THREE WORDS

Part II: Two Steps Forward, Three Steps Back

By Chris Munn

“Oh mah God!” Paige ‘Husk’ Guthrie proclaimed. “Your face… Jono, it’s healed!”

Paige was crouched against a tree, deep in the forest surrounding Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. In front of her stood her teammate, Jonothon ‘Chamber’ Starsmore, whose psionic energy had blown a gaping hole in his chest and lower face upon its emergence. How, then, was Jono standing in front of her with a perfectly healed face?

“It’s a miracle, I know,” he replied.

“Ah’ve never heard you’re voice before,” she whispered, still in shock.

“Still gettin’ used to it meself, gel,” he responded with a smile.

“How…” she stammered, “how is this possible?”

“Come with me,” he said as he took her hand and gently pulled her up, “and I’ll tell you all about it.”

The two walked in silence, hand-in-hand, back to the school. Paige didn’t know what to think, the past day had slammed her so thoroughly that this unexpected surprise had hit her pretty hard. Her ex-boyfriend Angelo was dying of the Legacy Virus, and he blamed her in part for it. Now, the one man she had loved unconditionally since her time at Xavier’s was finally a whole person. Jonothon’s excuse for keeping his distance from her was the fact that he wasn’t normal, and never would be. Had that all changed with the appearance of such a miraculous event? A tear fell down her face, which she quickly wiped away; for fear that he would see it.

As the two walked through the main doors of the school, Paige found it odd that all of her teammates were awaiting their return in the foyer. Everett, Jubilee, Monet, and Clarice were as taken aback by Chamber’s appearance as she was. Only two students were absent, Alex and… Angelo.

“What the hell?!?” Jubilee expressed the second she noticed Jonothon’s appearance.

“Heya Jubes,” Jono replied to her exclamation. The four mutants crowded around Jonothon, expecting an explanation of some sort. Paige broke away from the group and crouched in the far corner, away from the shocked looks and questions of her friends.

“Jono, how did this happen?” Everett asked with concern.

“I guess it’s just a delayed effect from what that Sinister bloke did to me in Europe,” Jono replied.

“You need to let Emma and Sean take a look at you,” Clarice spoke up.

“I’m still adjusting, gel,” he responded, “let this sink in a bit, ‘fore I get the hell tested out o’ me.”

Clarice and Everett shot glances at each other, worried looks that expressed exactly what the entire group was feeling. Paige echoed their concern with her hollow eyes, still refusing to let the event be accepted.

“Ye wanted to see me?” Sean asked as he walked into the dark office of his co-headmaster, Emma Frost.

“That I did,” she responded with a sly smile. Sitting behind her desk, her feet propped up, the candlelight reflected off of her blonde hair. Her silhouette was all Sean could make out in the low light, as he squinted his eyes to put her voice to her face.

“Why is it so dark in here?” he asked.

“Because the lights aren’t on,” was the reply, spoken as dryly as possible. “I was wondering, Cassidy, about how the proposal to Moira went the other night? You’ve seemed to be avoiding me ever since your decision… did something go wrong?”

“Blast ye and yuir telepathy, why don’t you just pry out all of me deepest secrets and ask about them as well?” he asked with the bile dripping from his voice.

“I thought as much,” Emma stated as she lit up a cigarette, the flame from the lighter illuminating her face.

“Since when do ye smoke?” he asked.

“Since I came to the realization that it adds to my ice-bitch exterior.”

“I think it’s time ye got to the damn point, woman,” Sean declared, beginning to become impatient.

“You want the point, Sean?” she asked as she stood from the desk. The light hit her outfit, which was a variation of the Hellfire Club uniform she adorned years before. “The point is that I’m sick and tired of coddling these children with your pacifist thoughts and unproductive ways of training. The point, weakling, is that I’m not going to allow your presence at this school any longer.”

Sean Cassidy’s eyes displayed the shock he felt at what a woman he called his friend was saying to him. He attempted to speak, to raise his fist in anger… but found that he couldn’t do either.

Emma’s face contorted into a huge grin as smoke exhaled from her lips. “You know, that nagging voice in the back of your head that made you back out of the proposal? Guess who.”

Sean’s eyes quickly switched from shock to anger, sweat beading down his skin as he attempted to fight the telepath’s mental hold.

“That kiss we shared a few nights ago, did you honestly think you could have developed feelings for me? ME? Give me some credit, man,” she stated as she took another drag, “I’ve got taste.”

Emma had completely frozen Sean’s motor control over his body, not even his sonic scream was functioning… she wouldn’t allow it.

“Look, it’s time for you and Moira to go away and live happily ever after,” she said as she rubbed her hand against his face, “so I can take care of this school the way it demands.”

A gurgling sound came from Sean’s throat, as he attempted to scream cries of defiance. Emma removed her hand from his face, her smile turning into a scowl.

“This school will be mine, Sean Cassidy,” she said, “and not even Charles Xavier himself can stop me.”

The room was barren, whereas only hours before it had been filled with the possessions of Alexander Roberts. He put the remaining items that were worth keeping in his suitcase, pausing long enough to stare at the now blank shelves.

He had let himself be fooled into thinking that he had finally found a home at Xavier’s School For Gifted Youngsters. Instead, he had found that he was living only by sheer force of will, his body ravaged by the affects of both the Legacy Virus and his own radioactive powers. His decision to leave had not come lightly, as he had shut himself in his room for almost two days… attempting to put the pieces of his tragedy together into a cohesive idea of what God willed for his life. The answer, he had discovered, wasn’t what he had hoped it to be.

“So this is what it’s come down to?” he asks himself. “You’re leaving your friends and the life you’ve made for yourself here… you’re leaving Monet… because you can’t deal with what’s happened.”

He reached out to a small plant that sat on his nightstand, given to him a month earlier by his teammate and girlfriend. The plant shriveled as his fingers neared it, the proof that his radioactive abilities were seeping out of his body, out of his control.

“No,” he said softly. “NO!” he said again, this time a scream as he slapped the small plant against the wall, shattering its clay pot against the bare wall.

Monet let the scalding hot water of the shower hit her squarely in the face, the heat causing steam to rise from her skin. Blessed with invulnerability, the water had to be scalding for her to even feel it. She could always turn her invulnerability off by force of will, as Mr. Sinister had shown her while she was his captive. But why would she do that, when being invulnerable distanced her from her friends even more than her personality had. It was her shell, her way to not get hurt… and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

As she ran her hands through her thick, black hair, her thoughts kept wandering back to Alex. The two had shared so much in the past months, and she had felt there was finally someone she could open up to. But then Sinister came along, ruining his life and almost destroying their relationship. He was dying, and had walled himself up in his room ever since he had learned the truth.

She stepped out of the shower, catching sight of herself in the large mirror on the opposite wall. She stared at her reflection, wiping the steam away as to get a better look. She ran her hand down her body, marveling at her own perfection. Then, she raised her fist and slammed it against the glass, shattering the mirror into shards. She flew out of the bathroom, almost in tears. It didn’t matter how smart, how powerful, how beautiful she was… she still couldn’t handle forming a connection with people. The only thing letting someone close to her allowed was another chance for her to get hurt.

Entering her room, she grabbed the first tee shirt and pair of shorts she could find, attempting to distract herself from the unwanted feelings inside. To her surprise, the phone began to ring.

“Hello,” she answered as she applied some gel to her hair.

“Monet, it’s your father,” the caller responded. “I’m glad I was able to reach you. Your sisters arrived here safely a few days ago, but something’s wrong.”

“Wrong?” she asked, putting the bottle of gel on her desk.

“They’ve taken ill, and there’s been nothing the doctors here can do for them. I was thinking that perhaps you should come home, what with everything that’s happened between you, the twins, and Marius.”

“Yes, of course,” she replied, “it may be a day or so before I can make it there. A close friend of mine here has taken gravely ill, as well.”

“Thank you, daughter,” her father said before he hung up.

“Great,” she said to herself, “just one thing on top of another.”

Moira McTaggert peered into the microscopic blood of the mutant named Skin, the recent contractor of the deadly Legacy Virus. Finding a cure for the disease had been her devotion for years, as she was the only known human to have contracted the disease. There was more than her life on the line, however… in her hands was the fate of mutantkind.

“Moira?” Sean asked as he poked his head around the medical bay’s door.

“In here, love,” she replied, waving her hand to attract his attention.

“Any luck?” he queried.

“Afraid not,” was the response, “Angelo’s blood cell count is severely diminished, and the tissues in his body are degenerating. Just like the others.”

“Well, I need ye to take a break,” he stated as he grabbed her head and helped her out of the chair, “there’s something we need t’talk about.”

“What’s on yuir mind?”

“There’s something I’ve been a meanin’ t’ask ye for a long time, girl,” he revealed as he removed a small box from his pocket. “This is for ye.”

Moira slowly opened the box, which contained a beautiful engagement ring. Her eyes began to tear up, to which Sean smiled. “What’s th’word, lady love?”

“Oh, Sean,” she replied with the biggest grin imaginable, “yes!”

The two kissed passionately, but quickly stopped when Moira pulled away. She put her fingers to his neck, gently touching a strange mark.

“What’s happened here?” she asked as she rubbed it.

“Ah, I burned meself with some hot grease this morning at breakfast,” he replied, “nothing t’worry yourself about.”

Moira accepted his excuse without argument, despite the fact that it strangely resembled a cigarette burn.

“You’ve been avoiding me all day, gel,” Jono said as he entered Paige’s darkened room, “time t’come out and face the music.”

“Go away,” she whispered. She had been lying on her bed, in silence, for hours.

“Well, what wit’ you an’ Angelo both goin’ scarce,” he replied as he sat down next to her, “I’m beginning t’think nobody likes the new me.”

“It’s just a shock, that’s all,” Paige replied as she rolled over to look up at him. His face remained the perfect form that it had reverted to hours before, miraculously.

“T’you an’ me both,” he stated with a smile.

“Look, I don’t think I can handle this right now,” she said as she sat up, almost coming nose to nose with him, “not with the situation with Angelo being what it is.”

“Handle what?” he asked.

“God, you’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” she asked furiously. “I got over you a long time ago, Jonothon Starsmore, and just because you’ve got a face now doesn’t change that!”

“Wow,” he said after a moment of silence, “it’s a good thing years as a hideously deformed freak numbed my sense of self worth, or you might have hurt me feelings.”

“Actually,” Paige said softly, “there is something I need to tell you.”

“What’s that?”

“I love you,” she blurted out, “I always have, more so than you know.”

Jono’s eyes narrowed, but he kept from saying anything. He decided to let her finish what she was saying before he responded.

“I’ve never really let you know before, because I knew it wouldn’t work. But now, you seem so happy – so different. Perhaps, maybe we should try again?”

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to the two in the bedroom, a third party stood just outside of sight. Angelo had avoided the two of them since his outburst earlier in the day, but now that he was sitting here listening to this, feelings of justification rose to the surface – along with a small voice of a woman in the back of his head, driving him on.

NEXT ISSUE: In the conclusion to Three Words, the relationship between Paige, Jono, and Angelo comes to a violent head… Banshee and Moira announce big news… and the White Queen sits back and watches it all fall apart.