The Cale Storyline Redux Story 1 Chap 8

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 8: Bonding Part II (Audio)(Original)

Penance looked out at the sky above her. From the positioning of the sun, she could tell it was just past midday. As the day had begun, Jubilee, the one she thought of as a sister, had taken her from her home in the Biosphere. It was the only place she felt was safe at the school. Of course, she left the place from time to time, to explore the grounds. Sometimes those explorations were uneventful, other times they were disastrous. This time, however, she took the time to look around for the new student. While she had not found him, she had found the room he was staying in. For a moment, she wondered what it would be like to have a room. Maybe that could be a possibility now.

She sighed, and then heard her stomach growl. She was hungry, and she knew where she had to go. She dashed off to the kitchen, her hopes momentarily put aside with the thoughts of one of the others giving her apples. She did not feel disappointed as she entered the room, only to find the one she thought of as the Noisemaker standing near the fruit basket, holding an apple. She noticed that when he looked at her, he seemed happy.

She realized that he was about ready to look for her. For a moment, she tensed up a bit more, but he was also handing her the apple, talking. It was difficult for her to hear the more she tensed up, but she relaxed when one word got through. Richard. That was the name of the new student, and she quickly realized why she had to vacate the Biosphere. Richard was there right now, and the noisemaker, Sean, was going to take her to him.

She was filled with such joy that she ran out of the kitchen, and back to the Biosphere. She could hear the noisemaker running to keep up with her, but she put that out of her mind. Richard was the only thing on her mind. She thought of nothing else as she ran into the Biosphere, and looked around the area for Richard.

For a brief moment, she wondered if she had accidentally triggered his power. That would be a problem since if she had, it would cause him to have a seizure like before. She froze for a moment, hoping that hadn't happened again. After a few moments, she heard Sean catch up behind her, also calling out Richard's name. It was one thing she couldn't do, at least not yet.

After a few moments, she heard his voice in her mind. "Hi, Yvette." She turned to see him walking out into the open. She was delighted to see him in a form similar to hers. She let go of all caution, and gave him a hug. She heard sounds come from the noisemaker, but she noticed Richard raising a hand in a calming gesture. She then felt Richard return the hug. "Sean was about to warn me about how sharp your skin is. Guess he was afraid you'd hurt me."

She looked into his brown eyes, which were completely brown at the moment, and smiled. "I would never want to hurt you, Rich. I don't want to do anything that would cause me to lose you." She then kneeled on the ground, and motioned for him to join her. "What has been happening to you today?"

She saw him smile, and for a moment, she could have sworn there was a twinkle in his eyes. "It's been an amazing day. I've been meeting everyone. This morning, I met with Angelo, Paige, Jubilee, and Mondo. Later on, I'll be meeting with Monet, Jonothan, and Everett." She then felt him place his hands on hers. "But I doubt they will compare with this meeting." She could have sworn she felt like blushing, but she was sure no one would notice it.

Her happiness seemed to wane when she sensed a concerned tone in his thoughts. "Yvette, I had a terrible dream last night, that I fear may be a premonition. I think He is coming, the one called Emplate."

She started to shudder, and a quick glance at Sean, who had a concerned look on his face, told her that her fear was visible. She locked eyes with Richard again, and voiced her concerns. "Richard, He might try to take me again. He keeps trying to take me from here." Another terrifying thought crossed her mind, and she took his hands. "He might try to get control of you, and I don't think I could do anything to hurt you."

She felt him grip her hands, not harshly, but firmly. "Yvette, if He were to do that, try to run. Knowing you would be free might give me the incentive to break free. Any hope, however small, is better than none." Hearing those words made her feel better, even though part of her worried it would be a lost cause.

She wanted to respond but she noticed that Sean was speaking. She could only seem to make one word out, and she looked at Richard. He just smiled and said, "Sean was just wondering what your name is, and wanted me to find out. Should I tell him your name?"

Yvette was amazed that Richard had not told them yet, and then nodded. She then touched his arm, and he paused. She had gotten used to being called Penance and Penny that they seemed right as well. "Tell him it is alright for them to keep calling me Penance and Penny as well."

She saw a warm, caring smile cross Richard's face. "Alright. I think Penance could remain your codename. Besides, Penny does sound like a cute nickname for you.” She noticed the wink he gave with that last statement, and she felt like she would faint. She really was in love with this new arrival at the school. She then watched as he drew in the dirt several symbols. He had done the same thing last night, while he was teaching her the language, and she started to recognize them. The first six were her name, followed by other names, most likely code and nick name.

After that, for the remainder of the time together, she heard Sean ask questions, and Richard relayed only what she wanted to answer for the time being. Those usually involved finding out more about Him. She knew she would have to talk about it soon, but she wanted to be sure she could speak it out loud. As the time together came to an end, which she figured was being indicated by Sean pointing at his watch, she heard Richard say, “Shall we meet again tonight, so I can teach you more English?”

She nodded. “I’ll be waiting.” She then decided to throw caution to the wind. She wrapped her arms around Richard, and kissed him. It wasn’t an overly passionate kiss, but it was a long one. When she was done, she smiled at Richard, and then left the building. She noticed, as she went past Sean, that the teacher looked shocked, which she was sure was because of the kiss.

Richard felt like he was on cloud nine, even though he didn't have the ability of flight at the moment. He also noticed a look of complete shock on the face of Sean. Obviously, the headmaster had not expected Penance would do what she did. Richard felt it was coming, but he didn't really think it would happen after only a day. He would have enjoyed the moment more, but Sean spoke, signaling that the initial shock had passed. "I cannae believe what I just saw. Penance kissed ye." He saw Sean shake his head, and it caused Richard to laugh, a laugh he didn't realize was starting to vocalize since Sean was talking. "I mean, yur the first one of us she can safely touch without being cut to pieces. Hell, I carried her into the building the day she arrived, and got several cuts. And stop that laughing."

Hearing those words caused him to stop laughing. He blinked in amazement, and then looked down at his skin, which had tensed up the second he had gained Yvette's powers. Now it seemed more normal. Before, it had been a strain to speak aloud when he had her powers. Could it be that when he was relaxed, those powers could be relaxed to allow speech. He looked over at Sean, and asked, "You can hear me?" When Sean nodded, he smiled broadly. "Maybe I can tell Yvette now what to do so she can talk." Inwardly, he wondered if Yvette's actual voice would be as nice as her psychic voice.

He noticed that Sean was smiling. "Lad, just the fact that ye got Penance to tell us a little bit more about herself, albeit through you, is a miracle. If you get her to talk, that would be a real miracle. It might even give us a way of finally stopping Emplate."

Richard was listening, but he could not keep still. He climbed up one of the trees in the Danger Grotto, a little bit surprised since he was never really a climber. He was certain it had to be part of Yvette's nature, and most likely linked to her time in that monster's clutches. However, he did wonder how bad Emplate was. Once he perched in the one tree's branches, he looked at Sean. "How bad can this Emplate be? I've heard of Magneto, and the whole Onslaught affair, but I've never heard of Emplate until I got here."

He saw a grim look cross Sean's face. "Well, lad, one of the members of the X-Men, a mutant named Bishop, is from several years in the future. He had come back in time to stop the traitor to the X-Men, a task he believes he did. However, he had told us that in his time, there were several Emplate's traveling in packs in the future."

For a brief moment, Richard's mind was filled with the image of creatures like the image he had seen earlier. He could envision countless Emplates running around. What was scarier was the fact that he could see himself as one of them. At that moment, he shuddered, but he calmed himself down. He then looked right at Sean. "I hope that if I ever get stuck with a mutant ability, it is not Emplate's."

He saw Sean nod in agreement, and then glance at his watch. "Lad, ye are suppose to be meeting with Monet next. How long will ye have Penance's ability, so I know when to send Monet in."

For a moment, Richard thought about it. He honestly had lost track of time while with Yvette. He just shrugged, and vaguely answered, "It will be a while yet, Sean. However, when you do send her in, make sure she is alone. I have this feeling she doesn't want everyone knowing her secrets." He saw Sean nod, and then leave.

In all honesty, he was nervous about meeting Monet St. Croix. Her nightmare had shown her a side of him he was certain did not exist. However, there was something more. For some reason he could not recall, he could have sworn she was familiar for some reason. He just couldn't put his finger on it.

Monet quietly entered the Biosphere. Sean had told her that Richard might still have Penance's ability, but that wasn't her reason for being cautious. She was remembered the talk they had that morning, and it made her less eager to meet with him. His ability might allow him to find out about some of the deep dark secrets she kept. He could find about her brother, and....

She shuddered. The last thing Monet wanted was that secret to be found out. She’d rather him find out about how her abilities manifested, instead of the other secret. That was the one secret no one at the school should know about. She was certain Angelo had almost found out about it once, but it was possible that he had almost found out about her brother.

A noise from the trees broke her out of her thoughts, causing her to jump slightly. She turned to her left, and saw Richard emerging from the trees, brushing leaves off his clothes. She watched as he stopped, and looked at her. She could see he was nervous, especially as he spoke. "Hello, Monet. It seems now is the time to finally meet. I just want you to know that anything I may find out, I will not tell, unless you wish me to tell."

For a moment, Monet felt a sense of relief go through her. It seemed obvious to her that he was not lying about that, but the relief passed. It was replaced by the fear that he would find out something that she did not want known, even by him. She did not let that show as she smiled. "I thank you for that, Richard. Now, I want you to be careful, since as you can guess, my family life hasn't exactly been happy."

She watched as he stepped forward and nodded. "I can only imagine. Now, what exactly is your codename, and your abilities."

Monet levitated and turned in the air. "My codename is M, Richard, and I have been blessed by a whole plethora of abilities. As you can see, I have the ability of flight. I also have super strength and speed. I have also been blessed with night vision." She glanced over at the trees, and in the shadows, she could easily see marks. "I can see in the trees over there that either you or Penance had been perched there recently."

She turned, thinking she'd be facing Richard in the air, but she saw that he still on the ground, a panicked look on his face. "Monet, why are my arms bleeding?"

She had not anticipated this, but in part she was thankful that any complications appeared in this way. She flew over and picked up the new student. "Mon Dieu, if I knew that this was going to happen when we did this, I wouldn't have agreed to doing this. This is, ironically, what happened when my powers first manifested." It wasn't a lie, but it was close enough to the truth.

With the speed she had been blessed with, she flew Richard over to the Biosphere's control room, where the few practice robots they had were controlled. She pulled out the first-aid kit, and started bandaging Richard's arms, explaining as she did so. "My power first manifested when I was entering my teens. My brother, Emplate, had left the house some time before, and my father had warned that he might return. Years prior, he had killed my mother. My father always worried that he could try to kill the rest of us."

She stopped and took a breath before continuing. "I was in the library, reading a book, when he returned. He snuck up behind me, and started to sup on me. At that moment, my powers manifested, and since we were family, something caused our powers to force us apart." She shuddered, not sure if she should add the next part or not. "There was a brief moment, when I turned my head and saw him that I briefly saw an aura around him, but it was gone. However, what ever forced us apart left some nasty wounds on my arms.

She saw Richard glance at his arms, and saw him flinch for a moment. She then heard him sigh. "Well, those should heal up when your powers leave me. I just hope this doesn't affect any chances at friendship."

Monet nodded, thinking about that. She wondered if it would affect a possible friendship. It hadn't been a total lie, but if she told him the whole truth, it would completely complicate things, not only with the new student, but with all her friends. However, if she didn't tell, she could not be certain that Richard would not discover the truth. Either way, it was risky, and she finally decided that now was not the time for the full truth to be known. She just motioned to the Biosphere, and said, "Let me show you about my abilities now, Richard." With that she took flight, and was followed by the new student.

When Jonothan Starsmore entered the Biosphere, he was a bit surprised to see Monet was still there. He took note that she was standing a few feet away from Richard, most likely to remain outside the new mutants power range. He slowly approached, remember what had happened the first time Richard had inadvertently taken on his powers. "Afternoon, Richard. Do you mind me asking why Monet is still here?"

He noticed a slight smile cross Richard's face. "Well, I thought about what had happened yesterday, and figured if I went flying again, Monet could catch me, and prop me back on the ground."

Jonothan nodded. He actually hadn't thought about taking that kind of precaution. "Very good idea. When my ability first manifested, I had wounded someone I cared about. Still, you should be careful about possibly wounding Monet."

He heard a slight laugh coming from Monet. "I honestly think that is the least of anyone's worries, Jono. You know how resilient I am to harm." He nodded, acknowledging the fact. Monet had been well blessed when it came to defense. He then watched as Monet stood behind Richard.

Jonothan then heard Richard sigh. "Alright, Jono, let's get this over with." Before He could do anything, he saw Richard quickly move forward, and stop. In an instant, there was an explosion, and Richard when flying backwards. As if on cue, Jono had seen Monet take flight, quickly catch Richard, and put the new mutant back on the ground where he had been when the explosion happened.

He watched as Monet left, and then turned his attention to Richard. "Before you ask, my codename is Chamber. It's rather appropriate, since the psionic fire is contained within this cavity here." He motioned to the area as he mentioned it. "As long as these psychic fires are here, I live."

He noticed the wide eyed look Richard was giving him. "Good grief, and that took out your mouth as well." Jonothan nodded, and he could tell the new student was amazed. "This could not have been easy to deal with."

Jono nodded in agreement. "No, it has not. As I said before, the day these powers manifested, it caused injury to someone I cared deeply about. Added to it that my first day here was started with an attack by Emplate, and ended with Penance's arrival here." He saw Richard's eyes go wide in surprise, and he looked at him questioningly. "You had not picked up on those fact?"

He was surprised when Richard shook his head, and then thought about it. "Not at first. The past day has been preoccupying my mind. Communicating with Penance, getting to know everyone. Now that I focus on it, I can sense the trauma. Odd, you seem to put a relationship with Paige ending as traumatic. Had it been..." Jonothan gave him a look, and Richard backed off of the topic before speaking again. "How bad was the attack by Emplate, and where did it happen?"

It had been a fair question, and he didn't feel like he should hide it. "It was bad. Emplate started supping, as the bugger calls it, on me at Logan Airport after I got off the plane. He did expect me to lash out while it happened. Shortly after he was fought off, we came back here and found Penance. Later, I guess figuring the place wasn't safe, ran amok. It had been a ..." At that moment, he noticed that Richard's eyes had gone wide. "Something wrong?"

He waited as Richard spoke. "Good grief, if he had attacked me at the airport, he would have seen that I could become him. I had picked up on his power, but I must have moved too fast for him to realize it. If it had been the other way around...." Jonothan realized what the new student was getting at. Had the roles been reversed, Emplate would have gained a new minion. It was an obvious difference from his first encounter with Emplate.

He place a hand on Richard's shoulder. "You could be right, gov, but anything can be overcome. Look at me. I've survived everything that has happened to me, and I was alright after it all was said and..."

He was surprised when Richard pushed his hand off, and retorted, "No you haven't. I can still sense the anger at what happened to you. You're still angry that your power makes you appear to be an outcast. It's that that made you reach out to Penance, since she seemed to be an outcast as well. A kindred spirit that would not be able to interact with society."

Jonothan closed his eyes, since he knew Richard was right. He even wondered how deep Richard had picked up on his feelings for Paige. "You are right, and what is worse is that the one person who seemed to accept me for who I am probably wants nothing to do with me now. I blew it big time with her. And it was all because she wanted a normal life."

He was surprised when Richard blinked, and his psychic voice had a hint of laughter in it. "Jonothan, you don't mean to say you think you don't have a normal life. Normal is only how we define it, not others. Society may dictate a norm, but in all honesty, it’s absurd. If you judge a normal life to mean you two are in love, and are happy together, then that's normal. Besides, I'm certain Paige hasn't given up on you."

He took those words in and nodded. If there was still a chance with Paige, he’d have to look into it. He was still a little unsure if he should try, but the way Richard spoke, it appeared there would be a good chance at salvaging the relationship. He then decided now would be a good time to show Richard all the aspects, that he knew of, of his power.

Everett entered the Biosphere, knowing it was his time to meet the new student and tell them about his abilities. However, he didn’t enter the place alone. He had asked Jubilee to come with him. He realized she didn’t understand why, especially as she stated her confusion. “Ev, I still don’t see why I needed to come along. He’s already seen my abilities.”

He turned his head to look at her, knowing she could see how much he cared for her in his eyes. He would not let anyone hurt her, if he could. “Jubes,” he started, using a nickname she seemed to like hearing from him, “Richard is going to be mimicking my abilities. The best way I can show him how to use them is to have another mutant present. Besides, I thought it would be best for you to be the other mutant.” He stopped, and looked her in the eye. “He just spent an hour with Jono, so he’ll need the change of pace. Also, he seems to be one of the few people here who wants to hear your X-Men stories.”

Those last words brought forth one of his favorite sights; Jubilee smiling. “Thanks, Ev. I just hope you don’t get jealous of Richard." He knew he wouldn't be jealous. Since they had met, they had seen a lot. They had survived encounters with the Phalanx, and a few other bad guys. More importantly, she helped him through the aftermath of Emplate's partial enthrallment. Deep down, he knew they were an item.

Those thoughts went to the background of his mind when Everett saw Richard was sitting in one of the clearings in the Biosphere. He could see that Richard still had Jono's ability, but it was obviously leaving him. He, and Jubilee, stared in amazement as the psychic flare dimmed, and the lower half of Richard's face reformed. It had to be a part of Richard's ability, since he was certain that if Jono's flare ever did that, the psychic mutant would die.

The awkward moment of staring ended when Richard looked in their direction, and stood up. "So you must be Everett Thomas." He then noticed that the new student seemed puzzled by something, and he realized what it was, even as Richard said, "I thought these were supposed to be one-on-one sessions. Why is Jubilation here?"

Everett smiled, and motioned to Jubilee. "I asked her to come with me. It will be hard for me to show you my ability without a third mutant present. And we all call her Jubilee. If you want, you can call me Ev."

He watch as Richard nodded, and started walking over. "Nice. If it makes you feel any better, then, you may call me Rich. So what exactly is your ability, Ev?" As Richard got nearer, he noticed an ease in the new student's step, similar to his own. No doubt, as he got closer, that had to be part of Richard's ability kicking in. He wondered if Richard was even picking up on when Emplate enthralled him. He noticed a slight shudder in Richard, and figured the new student had.

Everett nodded, and said, "Well, it is easier to tell you my codename, and then show you." He nodded to Jubilee, and watched as she ran off into the Biosphere. After that he looked at Richard and said, "My codename is Synch." With the last word, he let his mutant aura appear, which looked like a formless glowing rainbow around him."

The reaction Richard gave was of complete surprise, as he jumped back. "What the hell? What is that?" The surprise wasn't unexpected. He knew a few people had been surprised by his mutant aura when they first saw it.

"That," gesturing to his aura, "is my mutant aura. It gets in synch with any mutant abilities. It's why I had Jubilee come in here with me. It allows me to get in synch with their powers, replicating them as best as possible. It can also be used to track down mutants, especially ones I've gotten in synch with before. Give it a try."

Richard nodded, and Everett watched the new mutant concentrate. Soon enough, Richard had a similar aura around him. He watched as Richard looked at it for a moment before speaking. "This is odd. Cool looking, but odd." He watched as Richard started to manipulate the aura, like he had done something similar before.

After a moment, Everett looked off in the direction he had seen Jubilee run. He then said to Richard, "Now, I'm betting that you will have a feeling on what Jubilee's powers are, so have the aura focus on them." He watched as Richard closed his eyes and concentrated. Soon, he saw the aura shoot out, and he did the same with his aura. “Alright, follow that aura.”

He and Richard jumped out in pursuit of the auras. As they did so, he heard Richard say, “I hope Jubilee isn’t remembering when Sabertooth got loose in the X-Men’s mansion. I picked up on that earlier with her. I think being prey like that could spook a person.”

As they neared the location the auras seemed to stop at, Everett looked at Richard. “Do you always get insights into people when your power latches onto them?” He saw Richard frown at that question, and realized it was either too sensitive, or something he didn’t like about the power.

When they stopped, Richard nodded. “Each and every time. It sucks, but I deal with it. I’m hoping that here I can learn better ways of dealing with it.” He then watched as Richard looked around, trying to locate Jubilee. He also noticed Richard was pulling the aura in to him, almost as if the ability was second nature to him. “She has to be in this area.”

Everett nodded, and then thought about the odd power Richard had. “Hey, any idea what might happen if I synch up with your power?” It had been something he was wondering all day.

He watched as Richard looked around, while thinking about it. “I suppose, since your power can already mimic mutant powers, to a degree, you might end up just picking up personalities, but I can’t be sure.”

Everett nodded, and then looked at Richard. “Is this something about your ability you aren’t confident with?” He saw the young man nod. “I think I can understand that. I’ve had to use my ability a lot, and I’ve gotten use to it. You just don’t have the luxury of controlling when you use it.” He saw Richard nod, and he just put an arm around Richard’s shoulder. “I’m sure here you can build up that confidence, maybe even find some way to control the ability.”

He saw Richard nod, and then focus on something. “I think I can handle this aura though.” He then watched as Richard shot out a pyrotechnic shot similar to Jubilee’s, except Everett could see it was created by the aura. He watched as the shot reached a point, and then the spark explodes, startling Jubilee out of her hiding spot. “Tag, you’re it, Jubilee.” He couldn’t help but laugh at the look of shock on Jubilee’s face, but felt better about it when she started laughing as well. In that moment, he was now sure that Richard would get used to the place, and start fitting in.