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- BANSHEE
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- EMMA FROST
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- JUBILEE
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- CHAMBER
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- HUSK
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- SYNCH
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- M
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- SKIN
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- BLINK
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- NUCLEAR
TEMPORARY TEARS
By Mike Rudden
Prelude
“Marius, stop fussing over your hair and eat your breakfast before it cools,” spoke Mere. She was a beautiful, incredible woman. Monet obviously took after her.
“Whatever,” Marius sighed. “Pere, could I please read the paper? Business section, preferably.”
“When I’m done, son.”
“I’d like it now, dad.”
“When I’m done.”
“I said…”
“Mind your manners, boy! This is not how I brought you up!”
“I said now!”
With that, a bolt of lightning blasted in the air. Nicole’s giggling stopped, and Monet whirled around to face a duplicate of herself starring back at her.
“Stop, Marius! This has gone too far!” Monet turned back around, to find her parents gone, and her brother turned into the villainous Emplate.
“Turn around. Again.” Emplate said, laughing. Monet did as he instructed, to find what was once her duplicate turned into a form of Penance.
“Why couldn’t you save us?” gasped the figure.
“This ends now, Marius!” yelled Monet, confidently.
“For once in your life, you’re wrong, Monet. It has only just begun!” Monet could do nothing but scream… and wake up.
“Ev, you awake?” came the voice of Jubilee, accompanied by a knock at the door. “Cover up all indecent areas, ’cause I’m comin’ in!”
She opened to door to find Everett Thomas, a.k.a. her best friend Synch, sitting on his bed in full uniform.
“Dude… didn’t you… like… sleep?”
“No,” came the reply, Everett’s voice cracking.
“I went by the science lab this morning. The paramedics are gone. It’s safe to come out, but Sean told me it’s okay if you don’t go to class today.”
“Mister Cassidy… yeah… I have to talk to him.” Synch absently replied, as he stared out his window.
“About what?”
“Things.”
“Hey, I was thinking we could go into town today. Check out a movie. You can see Star Wars again!” Jubilee teased.
“No thanks, Jubes. I think I need to get some rest.”
Jubilee just stared at him, confused. “Okay… you know where I’ll be.” She then departed the room.
Ev stayed in his position, staring out the window.
It had been a night of all-nighters all around. Across the campus, the two headmasters hadn’t had sleep all night, either. They’d spent last night, like many other nights, taking care of security problems. Tomorrow they would spend reassuring the children that those things wouldn’t happen again. They now met in Sean’s office to discuss the reality of yesterday’s events.
“So, have you talked to Everett yet?” questioned Emma.
“Nae. He headed straight to him room after the fight, and I’d figure the lass will be out of it for hours to come,” claimed Banshee, with bloodshot eyes, stubble on his face.
“How about Alex?”
“Have nae talked to him, either. I hear he did quite well for his first real fight.”
“A little too well, as I hear from Monet.”
“Come again?”
“He’s had a slight metamorphosis. Monet described it as ‘a green Human Torch.’ He took out Bulwark with one swipe!”
“Huh!”
“This doesn’t worry you?”
“He’s only been in our care for a little over a month… and he’s already showing power growth? I’m ecstatic.”
“It’s the nature of his powers that worry me, Sean.” Banshee looked at her with a blank face. “Think Chernobyl…
“What do you mean, ‘Program already initiated’?!” yelled Paige Guthrie. She stood in front of the Danger Room/gym, trying to start her staple morning training. “Nobody else uses the gym at this time of morning!”
The door locks automatically on initiation, thinks Husk. Who’s in there…? An idea springs to mind – the ladder, which doesn’t really have any use, that’s bolted to the side of the gym, and reaches all the way up to the oversized windows. Paige decided to climb it.
At the top, she saw a hologram of a Phalanx unit. Paige flashed back to over a year ago, when the team battled for their lives against the Phalanx unit called Harvest. It surrounded the girl known as Blink.
Husk watched as Harvest was about ready to make his strike on Clarice. As he was ready to pounce, Blink opened a portal, chocking him into two pieces. That last time she did this, she teleported herself with Harvest. She’s improved, thinks Paige.
Sean Cassidy was updating his computer files as the knock came at his door. He stood up from his chair and opened the door. There stood Everett Thomas, dressed in khakis and his Xavier’s School sweatshirt.
“Come in, lad. How are ye?”
“Not good at all, sir.”
“Please, sit down.” He did. “I heard what happened from Jubilee. Ye saved her life! Ye should be proud!”
“I don’t feel proud, sir. I feel a little… well, I need to make some changes.”
“Of course. I understand what ye’ve went through. Therapy, maybe?”
“Perhaps. But not here. I can’t stay here…”
Sean Cassidy was speechless.
“So, you feeling okay?” asked Monet as she sat down under the shade tree next to Alex Roberts.
“Actually, yeah. Better than I have in a while.” He smiled as he put his arm around her shoulders.
“No… after effects?”
“Why would there be? Do you get after effects when you fly too high?”
“No, I suppose not…” she sighed. “It’s just that your first battle was a bit of a heavy one.”
“You mean they’re not all that fun?” Nuke laughed, and M joined him. As they enjoined their bliss, Alex started to cough and his hands started shaking. He stood up, walked a few paces away from Monet and collapsed.
“Alex?! Oh my…” Monet picked him up and sped off towards the Med Lab.
The boys’ dormitory. More specifically, the entrance to the bathroom of the boys’ dormitory.
At this moment it serves as a crossroads for two of Xavier’s School’s students, Angelo Espinosa and Jonothon Starsmore.
“How’d the battle go?” asked Skin as they met at the entrance.
{I was contemplating ignoring you. But as it is, not so good…} came telepathically from Chamber, {I got bloody ambushed by Refrax. He landed me right on me bum.}
“Ha! I got knocked unconscious by Vincente! Beat you!” smiled Ange as he entered the bathroom.
{Yeah… beat me…} Jono sighed as he followed Skin. {How’s Paige doin’?}
“Let’s not get into that, amigo.”
{No. Let’s,} grunted Chamber with an edge.
“What are you gettin’ at?”
{I’m gettin’ at the fact that I screwed up. I screwed up me and Paige, and I want a second chance.}
“Well… isn’t this interesting!” sighed Angelo. “I’m not just gonna step aside, you know.”
Chamber turned around and headed for the showers, {I wouldn’t expect anything less.}
On the driveway of Xavier’s, a van was being loaded with one person’s belongings.
Suitcases packed with clothes, a CD collection, comic books. Everything that was once min Everett Thomas’ room was now in this van. Synch stood still, watching his future as it flowed in front of him. Sean Cassidy stood next to him, watching one of his charges leave his care.
“Well, this seems to be the last of it, lad,” said Banshee. “We should be at the airport in no time. Isn’t there anyone you want to say goodbye to?”
“Not really…” grumbled Everett.
“C’mon, Ev. Chatterbox like you, not saying goodbye?” said Jubilee as she approached the two.
“I’ll leave ye two alone,” said Cassidy as he walked to the front of the van.
“You’re leaving, Ev?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I need some time alone. Some time away from being a superhero-in-training. Some time with my family.”
“But… your family is here, Ev. How do expect us to get on without you?”
“Well, I heard Miss Frost is contacting a grief counsellor for you all,” Ev chuckled.
“Ev… it’s not funny! Besides you, I don’t have many friends here, and…” Jubilee started to choke up.
“Hush.” Synch hugged her. “You’ll get along fine, Jubes. That’s what you’re best at. But I’m different. I wish I had your strength, Jubilee, but I don’t. I need my family right now.”
“But, Ev…”
“Shh. No goodbyes, Jubes.” Ev kissed her on her forehead. “Just promises. I promise to come back. Someday soon. And we’ll be best pals again, you and me.”
Synch broke their embrace, and took a step away. “I’ll miss you, Jubilee.” He then started to walk to the front of the van.
“Yeah, well, you better call! You hear me, Rainbow Bright?!” yelled out Jubilee.
“E-mail!” Everett yelled back. Jubilee laughed as the van drove off down the driveway. This is how she would remember him.
NEXT ISSUE: He’s terrorized Generation X since day one! He’s Emplate, and he’s back! But this time, he’s fighting for his own life! The Vengeance Of Emplate begins here next issue!
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