The Cale Storyline Redux Story 1 Chap 6

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.

====================================================

Changes Redux

Chapter 6: Unwelcome Intrusions (Audio)(Original version)

Richard was running, and he had a feeling that someone was pursuing him. Someone who wished to harm him. That much was evident by the state of the school. The place had been wrecked. People were missing, and he couldn't find Yvette in the Biosphere. That fact deeply fueled his terror and fear. He now ran through the halls, unaware of how he had gotten back into the school, trying to find someone. What he had found after his next turn was a dead end. Some instinct in him tried to tell him not to go down it, but he had ignored it. He spun around to head back the way he came, and froze. Standing at the junction he had just left was the figure he learned was Emplate. He was trapped. The figure slowly advanced, speaking with an evil in its voice that chilled him to the bone. "Mr. Cale, I have been waiting for some time to meet you. I think your ability will be very valuable to me, as well as key to defeating the morsels here."

The fear in his veins intensified. For a brief moment, he recalled something from his youth, but as fast as it came, he forgot it. What he did know was he had to show no fear. He tried to stay calm as he faced the foul being. "I would never help you, and I won't let you turn me into a creature like you." He tried to figure out the best course of action. Because of his power, he knew if he got too close to Emplate, he would gain those abilities, but the fiend would grab him, keeping him within close proximity. He could try to run by, but the hall appeared too narrow. There was literally no way out.

Emplate kept advancing as he spoke. "You can't avoid it, Cale. You will be one of my group, either by your own doing, or unwilling. I know it is your fear, so cease trying to hide it. In fact, one more step, and you are mine." He then realized that Emplate was just at the range of his powers. One more step, and it would be over. Emplate took that step.

In that instant, he felt Emplate's power take over. He felt his body collapse to the floor as it transformed. While that happened, he felt Emplate's personality start to subdue his own. The evil in that personality was too powerful, and he started to have trouble breathing. He started to accept his fate as he struggled for his next breath. He then closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he was sitting up in bed, gasping for breath. It had been a nightmare. That didn't comfort him much, since when nightmares woke him up like that, it meant something bad was coming. He glanced at the clock, and he could tell it was four AM. He quietly groaned, and then got out of bed. There was no way he would get back to sleep now. What was worse was that he had only gotten to bed a little over three hours ago, and if the dream was going to come true, it would happen in the near future.

He quickly got dressed. Once he was dressed, he rummaged through his carry-on bag. He pulled out a small musical instrument, and studied it for a moment. He had purchased it after seeing a movie years ago, and sometimes by playing it, it calmed his nerves. He would need that now, but he would also need some food. He knew of the kitchen in the main building, and decided that was where he would go. An early breakfast, and then he would calm his nerves.

Monet St. Croix looked around, and she was scared. It was not an emotion she would show often, since she always had to remain strong. She was not scared that her brother was attacking, since the students of Generation X knew how to beat him. What scared her was that the new student, Richard Cale, had gone missing. She was scared that Emplate had gotten to him while he was in a neutral state, and that would be disastrous. Knowing her brother, if he had caught Richard, then he'd use him to harm the others. She remembered how hard it had been when they had to stop Everett when he was possessed. What if they had to stop the new student.

She was snapped out of those thoughts, and her searching the campus, when Penance jumped out in front of her. She started to feel relief at having found someone, when she saw the silent girl's hands. The maws that now were on her hands meant she was one of Emplate's thralls. Monet knew that Penance would kill her, unless she got away. She started to back up, keeping an eye on Penance, as well as trying to figure out a way to get her free of her brother's powers.

She kept moving back, until she backed into someone. Before she could even think about taking her eyes off the advancing figure of Penance, she was knocked off her feet. She fell hard to the ground, but turned to look at who had done it. For a brief moment, she felt relief again, because Richard was standing there, apparently alright. She glanced back at the figure of Penance, but the girl had stopped. Monet then looked at Richard. "Richard, thank goodness you are alright. Emplate has attacked the campus, and he has enthralled Penance. We need to...."

She had noticed his eyes, and she saw the hunger in them. Her brother had already enthralled Richard. She tried to flee, but she was caught off guard by Richard's speed. She had only a momentary glimpse of the mouths on his hands before he grabbed her. He had a death grip on her, keeping her facing him. She tried to struggle, but it only caused him to increase the strength of his hold on her. When she realized it wouldn't work, he finally spoke. "I know what you are thinking, Monet. Is it your brother in control, or is it Richard? Let's see if you can figure it out."

At that moment, she felt pain right where his hands were. It should not be possible, but he was supping on her. What made it worse was that her immunity to her brother was not working. That meant only one thing; Richard was in full control. She also noticed that the pain was not stopping. He was going to sup on her until she was dead. A slight gasp escaped her lips, as a greater feeling of loss started to happen. He would discover one of her biggest secrets. At that moment, she screamed.

She continued screaming as she sat up in bed. She knew then that she had been dreaming. The dream had been too real for her taste, and the disturbing fact that it preyed on her biggest fears was not lost to her. Monet had kept many secrets from the others at the school, and she felt mortified when the truth about her brother had been exposed. Richard's powers could effectively expose all her secrets, including the one she had promised to keep from them, no matter what.

She got out of bed, and got dressed. As she did so, she glanced at the clock, and sighed. It was four thirty, and she was not eager for the day to start, especially after that dream. They were all supposed to meet with the new student, as a way to familiarize him with their powers, as well as them with his. She was definitely not looking forward to that. She needed time to think, and knowing that the main building would be quiet now, she headed over there.

Just to make sure she didn’t make any noise, never knowing if someone else was awake, she glided over to the main building, and entered. At first, all seemed alright, but then she heard it. There was music in the building, and it didn’t sound like it was on the radio, or that someone left music from the party playing. It sounded like someone was playing it right at that moment.

She followed the sound, remaining silent, until she got to the kitchen. From the door, she could not see anyone in the room. She slowly entered, keeping an eye on the outside door, figuring that whomever was in the room was hiding. “Listen up, whomever you are, if you...."

She trailed off when the answer came from the table behind her. "Sorry, Monet. It's just me, Richard." She spun around, and she felt her heart racing. Given the circumstances, she was amazed he remained calm. "I had no intention of startling you. I had just woken up early. Bad dream." She heard him sigh, and then saw him look right at her. "Did you have one as well?" She watched as he put an odd instrument down, an she noticed it looked like two recorders merged at the mouthpiece. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Monet hesitated in answering the question. She couldn't tell him about it. First was the fact that it was about him. The second fact was that if she did talk to him about it, she would have to tell him all her secrets, which included the big secret. She started to calm herself down, hoping that her voice would not betray her fear. "I honestly don't think you want to hear about my bad dreams, if I had any."

After a moment, he looked down at the table, and she could have sworn he had read her mind. "It's alright. I figured it was about me, the way you spun around when I spoke." For a moment, she heard a nervous laugh come from him. "I wonder if they were connected in some way. Your brother was the feature figure in mine." She then noticed him shuddering a little, and that relaxed her for a moment. He then looked at her, and said, "You know, we are supposed to train later today, one-on-one, at least that’s the way Sean talked when he drove me here. It might be better to know now, instead of finding it out later." She saw him grimace, and she realized that that idea was as distasteful to him as it was to her.

She nodded, and then sat at the table, keeping out of the range of his powers. "Fair enough. However, you tell me yours first, since you brought it up first." She still wanted time to think about her nightmare, and what exactly she should say about it.

Monet looked at Richard as he sighed, and then spoke. "I dreamed that something terrible had happened here. I was running around, trying to find someone, when eventually I came to a dead end. The whole time, I had this feeling of being followed, and once I had turned down the dead end, I found out your brother had been following me." She noticed that he shuddered at that point, and realized that part scared him. "He forced his ability on me. I had a hard time breathing, and just as I almost lost to him, I woke up."

After hearing that dream, Monet gasped in surprise. His dream had been similar to hers, and she felt she couldn't hide that. "Richard, that's very similar to my dream. The school had been attacked, and I was trying to find everyone. However, I wasn't cornered by my brother. I had been caught by you, and you had begun supping on me. The immunity I had to my brother's abilities were not kicking in." She then mentioned the one thing that convinced her that her fears were justified. "I had the feeling that my brother wasn't behind the attack on me when Penance was the same as you were in the dream."

She saw Richard's eyes go wide, and it confirmed what they were all starting to suspect. Richard truly was in love with Penance. "I won't let that happen. I won't let Emplate get control of her. I won't let that happen to her." Something in the tone of his voice scared her a little.

Monet held up her hands, hoping the action would calm him down. She also kept her voice calm, hoping it would keep him from using that tone that scared her again. "Richard, I think you might have been controlling her." She could tell Richard was about to protest, but she continued on. "If my brother had been controlling you at the time, it is possible. I know you would not let that happen if you could control it. I just hope the dream doesn't come true."

She knew she had hit the root of his fears when she saw his hands tremble a bit. After a moment, she saw him pick up the odd wind instrument. "I don't want to hurt Penance, or anyone else for that matter. I will if I have to, mind you." After a moment, she saw him put it to his lips, and start to play. Something about the tune seemed familiar to her. It made her think of a lullaby tune she heard when she was a baby.

Listening to the music made her feel better. She looked at Richard, and she could see him physically relaxing. She was almost amazed at how he went from one tune to another. It almost made her forget her nightmare, and the fears it had fed. The music continued until Richard hit a sour note. She blinked and noticed what had caused it.

Paige had just run in, obvious up for her morning job, and to get a water bottle. She had also been surprised by the two of them being in the kitchen, but took it more in stride than Richard had. "Good mornin all. Ah'm surprised to see you up. Were you going to go jogging as well, Richard?"

For a moment, she wondered if this was a typical time for Richard to be awake. She received her answer when Richard shook his head. "Actually, I am normally not up this early." She watched as he got up, and headed out of the room. "To tell the truth, the reasons that woke me this early only did so twice before in my life, and I honestly don't wish to talk about that right now." She watched him leave, and again the fear crept back into her.

After a moment of silence, she heard Paige say, "He does seem to be an odd one. It’s like he doesn't want to go into many details about his life, but his powers can find out everything about a mutant without him meaning to."

She nodded in agreement. "Indeed. His powers allow him to not only communicate with Penance, but detect Emplate before any of us can see him. Just those two things makes me think his power could be a danger to us all.” She blinked, amazed that she voiced the fear she had been thinking about.

She was surprised when Paige nodded in agreement. “You may have ah point, Monet. However, I think he doesn’t want his power to be that dangerous. It could be if he put his mind to it, but in all honesty, I think he has too much integrity to be that evil.” With that, Paige left, and Monet started to think about that. It was possible that he didn’t want to be that evil. He wanted to be in full control of his powers, and the only way to do that was to learn about them. However, that could go wrong if her brother exploited Richard, and what if Richard willingly took on that change. Focusing on that fear opened up an inner conflict, one that she always tried to keep under control. A struggle she did what she could to make sure no one ever found out about it. She was locked in that struggle until she heard a new voice, the one of Jubilee.

*************************

Sean Cassidy was not totally surprised by the scene in front of him. Monet had spaced out like this before, literally becoming a human statue. No one would be able to move her, and she would not respond to anyone. His big question was the one he was sure everyone was wondering. "So what caused it this time?"

It was Paige who answered, obviously back from her morning jog. "Ah think it had been the talk we had before I left for my jog. Apparently, both she and Richard had been up early. He had left the room, and we were both talking about how he didn't want to use his powers to harm people. I had left, and when I looked in, she seemed to be like this." He sighed when she finished. It was not a very comforting thought that this latest spell was caused by the new student, even if it was indirectly.

Jubilee, who had alerted him to the situation, motioned to the one door in the kitchen. “Sean, should I go get Rich? I saw him in the lounge, and he was playing this weird looking flute.” He just nodded, and saw her disappear through the door. This whole situation couldn’t have happened on a worse day. Richard was supposed to meet everybody individually, and learn about their powers. He had decided this was the best course of action, given Richard’s own powers.

After a few moments, he saw Jubilee enter, followed by the new student. Just from his first glance, he could tell something was wrong with the lad. The young man looked calm, but he could also see a lack of sleep on his face. The lad also yawned, which only confirmed the thought. “You wanted to see me, Mr. Cassidy?”

Sean nodded, and then motioned to Monet. “Aye, I did, lad. I was wondering if ye could tell us about what caused Monet to go into one of her spells. From what Paige said, she and Monet had been talking about you before it happened?”

He could see a puzzled look cross Richard’s face, as the newest student looked at Monet for a moment. “Wait a moment. What is wrong with her? Is she cataleptic, narcoleptic?” This was another reason he had set up the meetings they would have today. Each student also had their own quirks, ones he was sure Richard should know about. This particular one of Monet’s was the most troublesome. The only blessing they had was the fact that she had never gone into a spell in the middle of a battle.

Sean just shook his head. "No, lad. Monet suffers from a form of autism. Once she gets focused on something, and thinking really hard on it, she goes into a state like this. According to Paige, you had been the topic of discussion." He let his eyes rest on Richard, and could see concern in the young man's eyes. "Can ye shed some light on the subject?"

The look of regret gave Richard a haunted look, like a dark shadow had crossed over all of them. Then he heard the new student say, "Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned my nightmare to her." He then started to pace back and forth. "I hate it when they happen. I just wish I had a better idea of why." This was not what he had expected to hear, and Sean started feeling concerned that they had a new issue to deal with, and he was not an expert when it came to the mind.

A new voice spoke up, and Sean realize the expert in all things mental had just arrived. Emma's tone was calm, but authoritative when she spoke. "Richard, what was this nightmare about?" It softened a bit as the new student froze and looked at her. "I could help on this matter, better than Monet could have." In all honesty, and he would not fully admit it, she was capable of helping in that matter. She had helped him through his own mental hell during the Omega Red attack.

For a moment, he thought Richard would tell them what the nightmare was, but he watched as Richard shook his head. "With all due respect, I do not wish to bring that topic up again. I made a mistake telling Monet. I'd rather continue with the day's......." His voice trailed off, and Sean glanced at Emma. Inwardly, he cursed when he saw Emma's eyes glowing. She was using her powers to read his mind. He had a feeling that Emma would regret doing that, and he hoped it was not something that would cause the new student to lash out.

After a second, the glow faded, and Emma honestly had a look of regret and fear on her face. Richard collapsed to the floor, and Jubilee yelled. "Ms. Frost, why did you do that? He, like, obviously did not want to talk about it."

He noticed Emma now leaned on the one counter. It was apparent to him that what ever she had learned, it was something very disturbing. He almost hated himself for saying his next words. "I take it ye are regretting what ye did, Emma."

He saw her nod, and when she spoke, he felt horror go through him. "He believes his nightmares are omens of the future. He's afraid they will come true, and I could not find out what it was. He had buried it deep." At those words, he saw a look of concern cross everyone's faces.

The silence that followed the statement was finally broken when a voice said, "So that's the cause of his concern. His nightmares are omens." Sean did the same as everyone else, and turned to the person who had just spoken, Monet St. Croix. She was finally out of that state she was in, and was looking at Richard. She gasped in surprise, and then asked, "Did Ms. Frost scan his mind?"

Sean nodded, and looked at her. "She did, lass. We had been trying to find out why you went into one of your spells. She found out he had a nightmare, and that he believes it may be an omen of things to come.” He took a deep breath, and then asked the question. “I dinnae like asking this, but did he tell ye about the nightmare?”

For a moment, he was afraid that Monet was going to go into another of her spells. Then she looked like she was about to say something when Richard started to get up. “Monet, say one word, and I’ll tell them all about your nightmare.” He was stunned as Monet appeared to go pale. If the two had shared their nightmares, he couldn’t understand the fear, unless that nightmare revealed something more.

He then saw Richard glare at Emma, and he could tell the young man was not happy. “Ms. Frost, if I had wanted everyone to know about the occasional bad dream I have, and my concern about them, I would have said something. Something like my concerns about my dreams is something I prefer to give to those I trust, since some might think I’m crazy. Currently, there is only one person here that has fully earned that trust, and I’m sure everyone knows who that is.” Richard was now standing, and was heading to the door. He knew this moment could be damaging to the team, and to Richard’s view of the school.

In a commanding tone, he said to all the students who were in the room, “Could ye all leave for a moment. I think Richard needs some time to be alone.” He noticed Richard had stopped and looked at him. In that brief moment, he was certain Richard knew what was about to happen. He was certain Richard might not like it, but it would be better if they talked with the rest of the students out of the room.

After a moment, everyone departed, except for Emma, who was still shaken by what she had found out. Sean could see that Richard was still annoyed with her, and he did not hide it when he spoke. "If you wish me to tell you about my nightmare, Mr. Cassidy, I shall. All I ask is an apology from Ms. Frost before I speak." On the whole, Sean didn't think it was unreasonable. The only thing that worried him was that given Emma's nature, he did not think it would be forthcoming; and if Richard lived up to his British roots, his stubborn nature would keep him from speaking about it for a long time.

Sean took a deep breath when Emma straightened up and said, "I'm sorry, Richard." It had to be a humbling moment for Emma, because she had bowed her head a little. "When I heard you had been linked to Monet's spell, and then of this nightmare, I wanted to know. Not for the sake of knowing, but if a threat to this school and students was imminent. I will do what I have to in order to save these students."

Sean knew what Emma was talking about. The reason she took this school on, reopened its door, was to make up for the lost of her previous students. He also agreed that if it was something that was a threat, they needed to know. "Lad, please understand our position. We are in charge of the school, and the safety of the students. I know they sometimes fight the forces that would try to harm us, but we must do what we can. I know ye told Monet about it, and we know ye fear your nightmares are omens, but can ye tell us? You have to trust us if you are to be a student here."

He watched the lad sit down, and after a moment, Richard spoke. "Well, both Monet and I had nightmares. From what she told me of hers, they had a common theme. I have no doubt that there might be more to it, but you’d have to ask her for all the details of her dream. I only know what she had told me."

Sean looked at Emma, and she closed her eyes. "Emma is asking Monet to join us. Since you said your nightmares are connected, it would be better." He saw the lad nod, and after a few moments, Monet had returned to the kitchen.

Once Monet had sat down, he looked at her, then Richard, and said, "Alright, since these nightmares share a common theme, and we are aware of Richard's concern, what were the nightmares." Richard had motioned for Monet to go first, and once they heard about hers, and then his, Sean realized the root of the concern. Richard had good reasons to fear that nightmare, especially if it was a prediction of things to come. He then wondered if Richard had lucked out at the airport, and had gotten away from there before Emplate even noticed him.

Richard finished telling them about his nightmare, and noticed a few things. Monet had shuddered, not fully realizing how much the two dreams had in common. The looks on Sean and Emma's faces could only be described as shell shocked. He then lowered his head, sorry he had placed that burden on their shoulders. He then said, quite softly, "Do you now understand why I didn't want everyone to know this?"

Sean was the first to answer, but in his voice, Richard could tell he was still trying to process the facts. "It took a great deal of bravery on your part to tell us, lad. If that nightmare was a deep fear of yours, and yer nightmares are premonitions, that took a lot to tell that truth. I can only hope it rubs off on others." He glanced up at that last statement, and saw Sean was looking at Monet, who looked a bit humbled.

For a moment, Richard wanted to make a remark, but he was certain he was not on Monet's favorite persons list. He decided to say a simple truth. "No matter what, the truth has a way of being revealed." He noticed a scared look cross Monet's face. He wasn't sure what it was of, but he was afraid he'd find out later today. He then turned his attention to Sean, and remember what the plan was to be today. "Mr. Cassidy, you said I was supposed to meet with everyone one on one today. How is that supposed to work?”

He noticed Sean sat back and smiled. “Well, lad, it will work like this. I had thought that you’d get to have some one on one time with each of the students. That way, you can learn about their powers, and they can learn a bit more about you.” He then saw Sean lean forward a bit, “And lad, if it makes ye feel more comfortable, call me Sean, and you can call Ms. Frost, Emma.”

He had to admit that it did make him feel better. He started to get up from the table. “Fair enough, Sean. In what order am I meeting everyone?” Part of him wanted to put off certain encounters. An encounter with Monet would best be put off as long as possible. In the same regards, he was not eager to experience Jonothan’s powers again.

It was Emma who responded to the question. “The choices were going to be by codename, or by last name, when applicable. I’m certain you’ll pick the latter.” The way she said it, he wondered if she had just tried to pick his mind, but maybe there was something about it that just took clear thinking.

He looked at Sean, and the teacher answered the question with out it being asked. “If you go by codename, you’ll be starting with Chamber, which is Jono.” At the mention of the name, he shivered. “I guess Emma was right then. We’ll be going by last names. That means you’ll meet Angelo first.”

He nodded, recalling the person. “He’s the one with the extendable skin.” He started to doubt his choice. He did not want to pick up a craving for cigarettes, but it was better than having Jono’s power right away. He sighed, and said, “Very well. I take it you’ll have to fetch him.” Sean nodded, and then left the room.

For a moment, that left him with Monet and Emma. He had a feeling Monet was going to keep her distance from him as long as possible. In fact, he saw she had left the room as well, leaving him alone with Emma Frost. He looked at her, and he still didn’t trust her, not fully. He wondered if she could tell that, but she broke the silence. “I don’t blame you for not trusting me. You aren’t the first to do so, and you won’t be the last.”

He raised an eyebrow at that one, but didn’t want to inquire. He just coolly said, “Well, maybe you shouldn’t do those mind probes then. I could compare them to a home invasion, or another crime, but I’ll be a gentleman.”

He let the words sink in, and was surprised to hear her say, “I deserved that comments. To my defense, as I said before, I will do what I can to protect the students here. I’ve lost one group of students in the past, and I do not want to repeat that.”

For a moment, he felt bad about his statement, but calmed himself down. “I can respect that a bit, but you could have let me have time to tell you, instead of just waltzing in and taking the info out. If I wasn’t in control of my own abilities, or I was hurting someone, I can understand you going in there.”

She gave him a wry smile, and he wondered if that was meant to be a threat. “Don’t worry , Richard. If that were the case, I would be. I would try to make sure you stay safe, even if I had to put you down. However, if you are trying to pull the wool over our eyes…”

He held up his hands. “Message received.” He now fully understood Emma was not a person to cross. However, he felt she also understood that he wasn’t a person to cross either.

The tension that statement caused lasted until Sean had returned, with Angelo Espinosa behind him. Sean had a smile on his face, as he said, “Well, we have Angelo, and I even made sure you two would have some privacy. I figured it would be best that while you learn the abilities, Richard, that no one can bother you. So I manage to get Penance to leave the Biosphere so you can train in there.”

For a moment, he felt a little sad by that. He would have loved to see Penance again, or have her watch him. However, he understood why that was best. He nodded, and then said to Angelo, “Well, shall we have some fun?”

He watched as Angelo nodded, and headed for the door. “Indeed. Now you’ll get to see what it’s like to have a fun ability.” He then followed Angelo, all the way to the Biosphere, where the fun would begin.