The Cale Storyline Redux Story 1 Chap 13

Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this story, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is named after family relations. Any other reference to anything copyrighted is a chance happening.

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Changes Redux

Chapter 13: Skitz (Audio)(Original)

With the dust settling from the failed plan Emplate had had, Sean thought it would be best to send some of the students out to find the younger kids, as well as double check for any of Emplate's minions. It wasn't that he didn't believe Monet, but he wondered if Emplate would live up to Monet's expectations, or prove her wrong. To that end, he had Angelo, Paige, and Mondo, go with Emma to search around. That meant Everett, Jonothan, and Monet were helping him get Jubilation to the med center.

Thankfully, the trip was quiet, something they all needed. He knew they would have to get Jubilation in one of the med-centers' beds so she could properly recover. At least most of her injuries were physical. Those would heal, but he had to wonder about the psychological scars. While Jubilation had fought her fair share of foes, and probably had a few mentally scarring moments, this had to be a situation the girl never thought she’d encounter. Her own power had been used against her. Would she hate the person who did that, or the person who manipulated that person? All he knew was that only time would tell him the answer to that question.

That question left his mind, however, when they entered the med center. They entered it to what might have been a surreal sight before now. The new student was in the one medical bed, and the monitoring devices were operating. The new student still looked like Emplate, but there was no sense of malice. A young girl was sitting at the side of the bed, her head resting on the chest of the young man, her red hair flowing out from her head. As they stood there, she looked up, and for the first time, they saw the girl they had all known as Penance look almost like a normal girl. Her skin, it’s color a slight mix of red, and the fair skin that is the norm of redheads, looked almost smooth, but seem constricted when it neared her outfit. It was a way none of them had ever seen Penance before.

When the young woman finally looked at them, she was not surprised to see them. There was, Sean noticed, a look of concern on her face. The lad had definitely had a remarkable effect on her, and it was even apparent in her eyes. He noticed that Monet had started looking over things, but he addressed Penance, “Is he alright?”

To his relief, she nodded, and he noticed her hair moved with the motion, like it was a fluid. The girl truly had better control of her powers now. “I think so.” He then saw her look back at Richard, and he could tell it was with the same concern one had for someone they love. As she looked at Richard, Sean heard her say, “I want to stay here for a bit, in case he wakes up.”

Sean could understand that thought. The girl truly was in love with the newest student at the school. Then he glanced at her outfit, noticing how tight the outfit appeared to be where it ended. “I think that would be alright, lass, but I think it might be better if you changed.” He had the growing suspicion that if she didn’t, she would be in a great deal of discomfort.

He could tell she was realizing the problem as well, as she appeared to be tugging at the restraints that encircled her body. He also noticed that she seemed to be biting her lip, inwardly battling between wanting to change, and wanting to remain. Eventually, the redhead finally said, “I know. Do you think anyone could help me with the restraints?”

While she didn’t seem to turn around to listen, Sean heard Monet answer the question. “I’ll help you with that. I think Miss Frost might be able to help with that as well.”

Sean noticed a relieved look cross Penance’s face. It was quite possible that Monet alone might have had Penance worried. At least the lass would be more at ease now that she had better control over her powers.

After a moment, he saw Penance look over at Jubilee, whom Everett and Jonothan were getting into another bed. He saw the concern in the girl’s blue eyes as she asked, “Is ‘Sister’ Jubilee going to be alright?” When the girl turned to look at him, he could see that Jubilation meant a lot to the girl. No doubt, all of Jubilee’s attention to Penance got translated into Penance truly thinking Jubilee was a sister. It even made Sean wonder if the girl had a sister to begin with.

He was thankful when Everett answered that question, since the lad was busy setting up all the monitoring equipment. “I know what you’re about to say, Penance. I was in the same boat not too long ago, and I think Jubilee will understand that.” Sean felt proud of Everett for saying that, but then he felt the bottom go out of his stomach. He saw a panicked look cross his face.

They all turned to look at Richard, and saw the newest member of the team was starting to convulse. Instantly, Sean saw what the problem was. “Get that damn respirator off him. He‘s suffocating.” Instantly, he saw everyone jump into action, with the exception of Jonothan. Everett and Yvette scrambled to hold the boy still while Monet fought to get the thing off. In a matter of terror filled moments, the thing was off, and the young man‘s normal features were returning. The crisis was over, and Sean breathed a sigh of relief. When Richard had started convulsing, Sean’s mind had started to flood with images of his failed attempt to save Clarice Ferguson some time ago. It was one of the things in his life he greatly regretted.

He also noticed a relieved look on Penance’s face. He understood the reasons why she was so relieved, and that meant a whole lot more to her than they did to him, at any point in his life. For a moment, he heard her say, “Wow. He looks just like…” Sean never caught the last part of that statement though, as he hear a tapping on the med centers window.

He turned, and headed out of the area, seeing that Emma had arrived with another gentleman. Sean already had a feeling who the man was, since the man had similar facial features to the new student, but looked at least two decades older. It could only be one person, and Sean knew who it was before Emma said it. “Sean, this is Richard’s father. He had just arrived with some of his stuff.”

Sean faced the man, knowing he would have to explain, but not sure how much the man would accept. Before he could explain, he saw the man looking through the window, saying, “What happened to my son? Why is he unconscious?” The tone was calm, but Sean could sense the concern in it, and that there was a bit of a concerned parent coming through.

He knew he’d have to go for broke on this, and looked into the room while addressing Richard’s father. “Well, Mr. Cale….”

He paused when the man responded, almost automatically, “Richard. My name is Richard Cale Sr.” Sean sensed there was a level of importance in the name, and a quick glance at Emma, who was good at keeping a neutral face when she was in full control of a situation, told him the name did mean something. Her eyes were wide with shock.

Sean was about to ask a key question, but he heard Emma communicate to him psychically. “Good grief. He’s the head of Paladin Technologies. I should have pieced that together a while ago.” That told Sean a lot, but he wasn’t going to dwell on that.

He decided to take this opportunity to possibly distract the man from the possible tragedy that could now unfold. “Richard never said he was Junior.”

As he expected, the man lowered his head a little, and looked at him. “Well, my son’s been a bit ashamed of the family. I don’t think he fully accepted our legacy, and it got worse after we told him my brother died. He started his own journey to find himself, following some odd paths.”

Sean nodded, having a bit of an idea about that. He leaned against the door frame, saying, “I take that it included believing in good and bad luck.” Sean looked into the room, and saw that everyone was looking at him. He made a beckoning motion, and he was glad to see that the one person he wanted to come to the door started heading over.

The man nodded, and sighed. “Yes. That started when we delivered that news. Richard adored my brother, since he was like a second father to him. To Richard, his worse luck started that day.” He saw the man shake his head at that point. “To be honest, I hated telling him that my brother committed suicide, but it was better than telling him that he joined an anti-mutant group.”

Sean let out a low whistle, and said, “That is a harsh blow. When exactly did that happen?” Sean had a feeling it was on the lad’s birthday, or some other significant day in the new student’s life.

The man glanced back to look at his son, and answered. “The day after his powers manifested. The lie was to protect my son from the harsh truth, and so much went wrong after that day. I may not know what happened today, but if anything here is a good thing for my son, a major good thing, I am fine with him being here.”

Sean decided then to tell Richard’s father the truth, especially as Penance reached the door. “Well, sir, your son has had a few interesting days here. On the down side, before you arrived, we had to deal with a threat that is familiar to us. A mutant named Emplate attacked, and tried to use your son’s abilities to harm us. It ended up being Richard’s thinking that saved us.”

He saw a smile of pride on the man’s face as he said, “My son was always a quick thinker. In some ways, I’m not surprised he found out about this school.” Sean then saw Richard’s father turn to face him. “Mind you, if my wife heard this, she’ll be worrying to death until he came back home. Richard would not want that.”

Sean nodded, and then brought Penance into the room. “Well, you can tell her that your son has had a remarkable effect on our one student.” Once Penance was in the room, he had her face the man, and said, “Penance, this is Richard’s father.” As the girl quietly nodded, Sean continued. “When she arrived, she was skittish, and due to trauma caused by Emplate, had little control over her power, and couldn’t really communicate with anyone. Richard has brought her out of her shell.” He studied the man’s face as he said the last part. “Seems they’ve even fallen in love.”

During those last words, Sean noticed something. There was something in the man’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what it was. It could have been the twinkle of someone approving of the news of an acceptable companion for their child. It could have been amusement at the news of something so good happening from something so tragic. Sean, however, thought there was something of recognition in the eyes. He couldn’t be certain, since the man just nodded, and said, “I think my son will be fine here. Would there be anyone available to help get my son’s stuff to his room?”

Sean nodded, and then looked in the room to the others. “Everett and Jonothan. I’d like ye all to help Richard’s father get his stuff to his room. And Everett, don‘t worry. We will keep an eye on Jubilee. She‘ll be alright.” He watch as the two nodded, and headed out of the med center with Richard’s father.

Once the man had left, Sean turned to look at Emma, and said, “Emma, I’d like you and Monet to assist Penance in getting a better outfit together. She’s going to need help getting those restraints off. Aye have a feeling she wants to look more like a woman when Richard wakes up.”

He saw Emma nod, and even give Penance an approving smile. “I can agree with that notion. It may be a bit, but I can get someone in town to help with this. Any particular color in mind, Penance, or should we call you Yvette?”

Sean watched as the young lady blushed for a moment, and then said, “Richard said blue would look good on me. He said it would match my eyes.” As an afterthought, he thought, he heard her say, “And Yvette is fine.” In that moment, he saw that the girl’s eyes were no longer pure blue, but looked like normal eyes. He even had to agree with Richard’s assessment. Blue would look good on Yvette. No doubt, what they had here was a perfect couple, and Yvette was the best reason why Richard was staying. In fact, Richard was the best thing for Yvette. It was a positive change for the formally silent member of Generation X, and they could all agree on that.

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Richard slowly awoke in the med center, and his mind was a mess. He remembered going unconscious after is trick worked. He even guessed everything had worked out. If it hadn’t, he wouldn’t be lying in the med center. He started to move, wondering if he was alone in the room, or if someone else was there with him. The action resulted in him brushing up against something. He opened his eyes a bit, and almost jumped at the sight he saw. It was a stuffed bear. In all honesty, he was not fond of stuffed bears, at least not now that he was older. The sight of it, however, made him exclaim, “What the…?”

He hadn’t expected an answer to the partial question, or if he had, he didn’t expect to hear the voice he did hear say, “Penny brought it for you. Apparently, she had gotten one for me as well.” He turned to see Jubilation in the other bed, with a similar bear by her. It was smaller than the one he had.

In that brief moment, things from earlier came flooding back to him. He should have known Jubilation would have been brought here. When Emplate’s personality was in control, he had hurt her, first by supping on her, and then by using her own powers on her. He felt rotten to his core, and struggled to apologize for it. “Jubilee, I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to…”

He stopped when he saw her give a weak smile and hold up a hand. “It’s alright. I know you didn’t want to. Besides, it wasn’t like you had Sabertooth controlling you. Emplate’s bad, but he doesn’t scare me. Also, Everett was in a similar situation not too long ago.” Richard remembered that being mentioned, but that thought took a backseat when Jubilation continued with, “Anyhow, when Penny arrived with the bears, she asked me if I thought you might like it.”

Hearing Yvette’s nickname made him think again about the bear. It was then he noticed it was primarily red, but its eyes looked blue. It was essentially Yvette, but in bear form. For a moment, he gave the bear a hug, and he wondered where Yvette was. “Speaking of Yvette, where is she?” He hoped she was alright, but he realized she had been out. Why, he didn’t’ know, but he had a feeling it was linked to being ready for him.

He glanced over at Jubilation, who just had a slight smile on your face. “Probably getting dinner with the others. She’s been here for most of the time she’s been at the school today. I was half with it when they got me here. You know, she had her head resting on you.” He felt his own face turning red, until Jubilation continued. “I think she was also a factor in convincing your father you should stay here.”

Once those words sunk in, Richard closed his eyes, and face palmed himself. “I forgot he was coming today.” He looked around for a moment, recalling the few times his father had shown a temper. Obviously, his father didn’t lose his cool; something he had seen happen a few times when something, usually when ever his father deemed something was not in Richard‘s best interest. If he heard about Emplate, that would have been something to make the old man lose his temper. “It‘s hard to believe the place is still standing then. He does tend to lose it when something seems to have an adverse effect on me.”

He saw Jubilation sit back in her bed for a moment, and then heard her respond. “Like I said, I think it was Penny who sealed the deal. Guess it is good you made contact with her.” Part of him wanted to believe that, but he wasn’t sure. He was basically turning his back on the family, especially since his uncle’s passing. This school was just the latest.

Richard was a bit startled when another voice said, “Jubilation is correct, Richard. It seems your budding relationship, as well as the impact you’ve had on Yvette was the deciding factor.” He looked over, and saw Emma entering the room, but she had a look on her face that stated that she was certain Richard was hiding something. He had a feeling he knew what it was, and he wasn’t going to be baited into saying anything.

He was shocked enough, however, when he heard Emma say, “I must admit, you both are doing quite well, having been out for nearly two days.” He noticed the look of shock on Jubilation’s face, and it mirrored his own. They had only thought they had been out for hours, not a whole day.

Richard sank back into the bed. “I’ve been out that long?” He groaned and then tried to get up. He felt dizzy, and then stopped the action. “Is that typical for what I went through?”

He noticed a softer look was now on Emma’s face. “It is typical for someone who has no training in withstanding psychic attacks to be out that long. Judging by what is known about the interaction between the powers of blood related mutants, and your powers, I’d say you recovered nicely from it. It also leaves us with a few things to discuss.”

Inwardly, Richard shuddered at that. He had a feeling that some of the things were stuff he didn’t want to discuss yet. He tried to deflect that by asking, “Is Yvette here?” He really wanted to see her now.

To his chagrin, Emma nodded, but said, “Yes, but this is more important at the moment.” He felt panic start to build, but he felt better when Emma said, “And it’s nothing to do with the stuff you don’t want to talk about. Let me get the others first.”

For a moment, Richard felt relieved, but the apprehension started to rise again. Once everyone entered the med center, Richard tried to see Yvette, but he had no doubt they were hiding her. Finally, it was Sean, who was standing with Emma, who spoke. “Lad, ye proved yourself to be a true member of Generation X when you helped stop Emplate. Since ye are most likely going to be doing that a lot, we figured you should have a codename, and thought you should pick it.”

He felt honored at that moment, but unsure what to pick. If he could just have a moment with Yvette, he might be able to decide, but they were up to something, so he’d have to decide on his own. He thought about his power for a moment, and had an idea. “Alright. First, is there a mutant called Mimic?”

He saw Sean nod, and with it was a frown. “Aye, there is one. He’s not one of the nicer ones out there.” He nodded. He didn’t want to be associated with a villain, especially after narrowly avoiding becoming one.

After a few moments, he finally came up with a perfect choice. He looked at them, and asked, “You remember the term that is often mistaken as multiple personality disorder?” He saw all of them nod, and he continued, “Well, since it was a misnomer, I’m using a shortened version of it as my code name. I will be Skitz.”

He watched as everyone nodded in agreement. Apparently, everyone liked the code name, and before long, he heard a voice say, “I think it is perfect for you.” The group parted, and he saw the speaker. It was a beautiful young woman with red hair, blue eyes, in a blue outfit that highlighted her beauty. It was Yvette, and she looked radiant. Before he knew what was happening, since his mind was filling with visions of their life together, she had swooped in, and gave him a hug. He honestly didn’t want it to end, ever.

After a moment, he decided it might be best to throw caution to the wind. He ended the hug, but said, “You know, there was something you could have tried when I was still unconscious.” Before he could suggest it, he saw the twinkle in her eye, and she kissed him. He had to admit, knowing it was happening was way better than not knowing.

After what seemed like a second or two, since he was lost in the bliss of the moment, he heard Sean clear his throat. He stopped the kiss, noticing the look on Yvette's face. It was that happily embarrassed look people in love got when they were caught. He had a feeling the same look was on his face. He was looking at Sean when the man said, “Lad, ye should be able to go back to your dorm room tonight. Tomorrow, you’ll be in your first day of classes.” He noticed Sean glanced a bit at Yvette as well, as he said, “The same for you, Yvette. I will, however, allow you two to sit next to one another in some classes.”

Richard had a feeling why it would only be some of the classes. Sean was tempering the budding romance with practicality when it came to his power. Richard was aware if he spent too much time with Yvette, he’d have her powers for the rest of his life. To be honest, while that would have scared him before coming to the school, he felt alright with the idea now. He wouldn’t admit that at the moment, so he just nodded at Sean, and said, “Alright. I’m looking forward to the classes. Has to be easier than what we all just went through.” He kept himself from saying any words after that. He still couldn’t believe he’d been out for over twenty-four hours.

Gradually, people left the med center. Everett stayed to speak with Jubilation for a bit, and Yvette stayed at his side until he was ready to get moving back to his room. Being a gentleman, though, he escorted her to the girls’ dorm, and even to her dorm room. He wasn’t going to enter it, though, since he was certain it didn’t have much in decoration. Still, he enjoyed the time it took to walk her there, and bid her good night.

From that point, he made his way back to the guys’ dorm. It was quiet now, and after everything that had happened, he needed that. It was still a lot to take in, and the quiet helped him mentally process it. There was just one thing that eluded him, and, as if by chance, he had the opportunity to get an answer.

Sitting right next to the entrance to the boys’ dorm was the small dark-skinned man he had seen before. It was the same man who only told him the name of the school, and from what he had gathered, the man played a part in the lives of some of the other students here. He stopped right near the man, not close enough for his powers to activate, and said, “Alright. I figured out you wanted me to come here, but what was the reason. Was it to help them communicate with Yvette?”

He honestly expected to hear confirmation of that, or even a nod of the head. What he heard, however, made him pause in his thought process. The man was always of few words. This time, the man spoke one word, and it puzzled Richard. “Reunion.” It was a word that didn’t make sense. True, something about Yvette seemed familiar to him, but he also got that feeling about Monet for some reason. Had they all met before? If that was the case, why couldn’t he remember it?

He rubbed his temple for a moment, and then said, “That makes no sense whatsoever. Maybe my mind is still a bit addled from all that had happened.” He then entered the boys’ dorm, and made a path to his room. It was a new life he was starting here, and to be honest, he was ready for it. It already had a lot of good things in it, and he couldn’t wait to see what other good things came his ways.

Change can be a very good thing.