Marvel Mayhem:Learning Gen-X Style #15:A Chink In The Armour

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In the last issue: A new teacher joins the school, who had a secret motive. They learn the truth, as do the original students. Unfortunately, the forces opposing them are moving into place to cause them more trouble.

Previous issue: Recruitment

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Attention: Generation X and their villains, as well as any other mutant mentioned in this work, is property of Marvel Comics. The character Richard Cale is one of my own development. There will be changes to some of the characters background, as this work is part of Marvel Mayhem on ComicVine.com.

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Issue 15: The Chink In The Armour

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Jubilation Lee stood in what was now the gymnasium of the school. Converted from one of the bigger rooms of Cassidy's Keep, the room was perfect for training the skills of the mutants. While she already excelled at gymnastics, the mutant turned vampire had found herself training more with hand to hand combat. This was one of those times as she was punching one of the hanging punching bags.

Normally, she would pull her punches, since the unnatural strength that vampires had would destroy the punching bag. That was normally, since when she started, her pulled punches were doing nothing. It was something that was aggravating her, since it meant something was wrong. A skill she had gotten used to was being hindered somehow. With the latest bombshell being dropped on them not to long ago, her vampire powers being hindered was something she didn't need right now.

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As she continued punching the bag, she was so focused on it that she almost didn't hear Angelo Espinosa, who had become the closest thing to a boyfriend to her, enter. She did hear him speak when he did so, and she controlled the sudden urge to spin in shock. "Jubes, is everything alright? I didn't do anything to piss you off, did I?"

She continued punching, putting more power into them as she responded to his question. "Relax, Ang, you didn't do anything to annoy me." She kept punching, but responded to the other question, a little flattered that he worried so much about offending her. "I think there is something happening to me. I don't know how to describe it..." She paused, glaring at the punching bag. All she had done, and the increase in power, did nothing to the bag.

The frustration peaked, and she gave it a powerful roundhouse kick. While the kick connected, she noticed that, as she was delivering the kick, Angelo had been almost next to her. Luckily for him, he had ducked when she kicked, avoiding getting hit. The kick had hit the punching bag, and what happen only made her feel worse. It just spun around on its mooring. A kick that hard should have sent the thing flying. The fact that the bag didn't go flying worried her.

As if Angelo could sense her distress, she felt him put his hands on her shoulders, maybe in an effort to massage them, and maybe to comfort her. She figured it was the latter since he said, "Jubes, calm down. What ever is happening, I'm sure we'll be able to figure it out. Maybe you just haven't had a good meal? When was the last time you went hunting for food?"

She felt herself relax, and she focused on the question. He had a good point. Since she had been part of the Forgiven, she had hunted for animals to feed the vampire hunger she had. It was enough to get her by without wanting to bite people, even during those times when the people gave her serious reasons to want to bite them. Still, she ate normal food as well, and lately she hadn't felt the urge to go hunting, even for small animals.

She finally remembered the last time she had hunted. She looked up at Angelo, a look of panic on her face. "It was back at the building Mojo had made. I had the bloodlust hit me the day of Yvette's birthday. I still don't know why it hit me back then, but that was the last time." As that realization hit her, she also realized what it might mean. "I must be losing my vampire powers, but how?” She didn’t even think that it was possible.

While there were some benefits to being rid of the vampire curse, she honestly didn’t think it was possible. Of course, it would be good not to be tempted to bite the guy she loved. Still, the loss of this part of her was going to be a nasty blow. She needed to know how it happened, if it was happening; or maybe she was just panicking. She almost thought that, but that hope got dashed when she heard Angelo say, “You know, Everett had said to me earlier that your skin isn’t as pale as it was.” Jubilation bolted out of the room, hoping to get confirmation from the only teacher who could do so; Richard Cale.

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Doreen Green sat at the desk in what was her office. She was still getting used to being in the role of teacher. She honestly didn‘t see herself as a teacher. She was more into fighting the bad guys. She had already proven herself capable of defeating the most powerful of them. Still, it made her feel good that she could train a new group of young mutants.

Her thoughts about this turn of events in her life were cut short, however, when she saw Tippy-Toe come scampering into her office. The black squirrel, donned in the cute pink bow, had made her way over to Doreen, and she could tell the squirrel had something on her mind. She pulled out a small bowl of nuts, and said to her little friend, “Tippy-Toe, what brings you here right now? I thought you‘d be exploring.”

She watched as the squirrel sniffed the nuts, and then took one. After the little squirrel had opened the nut, she heard it say in its language, “It‘s that girl that is slowly changing. She seems to be in a panic, and is looking for the other teachers.”

Doreen immediately got up, and made her way over to her office door. Once she opened it, she saw that Tippy-Toe was right. The girl known as Jubilation was knocking on the door of Richard Cale‘s office. Honestly, she didn‘t feel the same unease she had felt when she first met the vampire, but she also noticed that there was something different about her. She cleared her throat, getting the girl‘s attention, and said, “Is there something you need help with, Miss Lee?”

She waited for a moment, and then watched as the girl nodded, and came over to her office. She seemed a bit nervous about doing so, but Doreen had a feeling why that was. She had heard from some of the squirrels during her travels, that some vampires would prey on them. She had learned why that happened when she had gotten here, so both she and the squirrels were alright with it. After a moment, the girl finally spoke, “I was kind of hoping that I could talk with one of the other two teachers. I mean, they know more about my situation than you do.”

Doreen nodded, and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. “You’re right. I don’t know the situation as well as they do, but I don’t fully think that’s the whole reason. I think you feel a little guilty because you might have prayed on squirrels.” She watched as the vampire girl looked at her, and saw the shock in her eyes. Doreen just smiled, and responded to the unspoken question. “It’s alright. Squirrels are aware of where they are on the food chain. Besides, it’s respectable that you didn’t want to hurt others.”

She heard Jubilation sigh, and then the girl spoke. “Well, lately I’ve been noticing that my vampire powers seem to be getting less and less effective. After I accepted being a vampire, I thought all the vampire powers were neat to have. It’s like I’m losing a key part of me.” She honestly could hear the fear in the girl’s voice.

For a moment, she wondered what she could say to help comfort the girl. She then looked over at Tippy-Toe, and the answer hit her. She put an arm around the girl, and said, "I think I know how you feel. Tippy-Toe wasn't my first companion. That honor went to a brown squirrel I had named Monkey-Joe. Unfortunately, he had died in one battle, and for a bit, I felt lost without him." In fact, remembering the fallen friend brought a tear to her eye, and she had to pause. After a moment, she continued. "Still hurts, but I found Tippy-Toe, and she proved herself to be able to fill Monkey-Joe's shoes." She smiled with the last statement, hoping it to calm the girl.

To her relief, it did seem to have that effect. Jubilation had appeared to calm down, but she still seemed to be puzzled about something. "I can understand that, but I'd like to know what is happening to cause this. Is it possible I can ask Miss Frost what is happening?"

Doreen bit her lip, knowing full well that Emma could not help the girl at the moment. She did, however, need to know about the situation. Finally, Doreen looked at Tippy-Toe, and an idea hit her. "I know for a fact that Emma is in the middle of something right now. I will have Tippy-Toe run down with a note." She watched as the black squirrel with a pink bow ran up to Jubilation, saluted, and then turned to her.

She quickly wrote up the note, and as she handed it to the squirrel, she heard Jubilation ask a question that made the teacher worry. "You know, most times I saw squirrels after becoming a vampire, they were running from me. Lately, they seem to be running up to me." Doreen actually knew what that meant, but she didn't want to say.

There was one thing Doreen had learned when she started communicating with squirrels. They were one of the few animals that had a heightened sense of awareness. It was part of why when ever anyone saw a squirrel, the squirrel ducks out of sight. They could sense predators, both natural and unnatural. Given the girl's distress, that would not be a good thing now. She just hoped Emma would respond quickly.

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Yvette sat quietly in the chair she was in. Her eyes were closed, since she was trying to focus on rebuilding the barriers in her mind. There was a time when that barrier was a thick wall. When Emma started helping her and Richard fix those barriers, she was surprised to see them look not like a massive wall, but a wall of playing cards. As she focused on that wall, she heard Emma say, “Now, both of you, put all your will power into the walls. Make them as strong as you can. Focus on things you feel safe around.”

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That would be the trick, and Yvette knew it. The only thing she felt one hundred percent safe around was Richard. She felt a hand take hers, and she knew Richard thought the same about her. It had to be worth a try, though. She focused on all the good memories they had together: when he rescued her from Emplate's lair, when he had gotten her the bracelet and shirt she had adored, and the evening of her birthday. Those thoughts alone caused the wall of cards to become a fortified wall.

It wasn't back to normal, but it was a start. She thought of the confidence she had gained while at the school, teaching the students. She thought about how being at the school gave Richard and her the chance to pursue things a normal young couple might pursue. The wall changed again, and became the same fortified wall it had been. It appeared things might be back to normal. Soon, she heard Emma say to both of them, "Perfect. That looks like the same barrier I encountered the first time we met." Hearing that praise made Yvette put another layer of protection on the wall, and it transformed into something stronger.

Once that was done, she heard Richard say, "Stronger than the last time. We need to test them. We need to be sure they will stand, and that no one can get through." She knew that Richard was worried about that, especially after Emplate had gotten through them. His next words then told her how serious he was about testing them. “Emma, I want you to try and trigger our memory of ‘The Incident’.” She gasped, and realized Emma had done so as well. Before either could protest, however, she heard Richard say, “Yvette and I found a way to break us free of the effects. We just need to be sure.”

Yvette took a deep breath, swallowed, and then nodded. “He’s right. We need to find out if this most dangerous memory is going to be accessed.” She did feel worried about Emma seeing what had happened in the memory, since Emma only had a basic idea. That was because she had told Emma and some of the other women of the X-Men about ‘The Incident‘.

She watched as Emma nodded, and then responded. “Alright. You two try to keep a level head.” She nodded, and inwardly prayed that they would have the time to stop things from getting out of control. She then mentally braced herself for the attack.

To her horror, the barrier exploded. In that brief instant, she saw a crack glowing in the wall that was in her mindscape. Once the rubble was clear, however, she saw ‘The Incident’ happening. She looked to her right, and saw Richard was standing next to her, shocked. Also there was Emma, and she stood silent. She didn‘t doubt the woman would be shocked, but Emma obviously was.

As she watched the memory, all the feelings it would awaken started to emerge. She got closer to Richard, and even though it was just in their minds, she was certain it was on the physical plane as well. Instinctively, she felt her hands reaching for her clothes, and part of her just wanted the scene to stop, since she didn’t want the lust to take over in front of Emma.

She leaned back when she felt Richard‘s hands on her shoulder. Those hands didn‘t stay there long, knowing what would soon be happening. Luckily, she heard him utter one word that made them snap out of the memory. He softly said into her ear, “My lovely Penny.”

Once the word was uttered, everything changed to the room they were in. She and Richard were indeed standing, as well as Emma. A second before, Emma was standing next to the image of the snake-skinned woman, trying to soak in the image of the woman. She did notice that Richard was right behind her, and his hands were already inside her top. At least he hadn‘t reached the anything under her blouse. She then saw Emma looking at her, and the woman obviously ignored where Richard‘s hands had gone as she said, “How did you do that? How did you end that memory so quickly?” Yvette would have to explain quickly, especially since she was already sensing that they had done their trick with the secret word too many times.

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Emma Frost could already sense the thoughts that were coming from the couple. It was stronger from Richard, but she wanted an answer before they gave in. Luckily, Yvette still had sense of mind to speak, while trying to keep her blouse in place. “It‘s a pet name. On our first few days on the run, he remarked that while my power was active, my skin was the color of a new British Penny. We had some giggles with it after that. It‘s also something we never said mentally.”

She nodded in understanding, and calmly said, “Very smart. How often did you try this?” If they had done it repeatedly, it might explain why Richard seemed on the verge of giving back in to the memory. She hoped they could hold out, though, since she wanted to know more about the other figure that had been in the memory.

She heard a gasp from Yvette, and figured Richard must have done something to cause it. Luckily, he seemed to be on the verge since he was able to answer the question. “We’ve been trying it about once a night, but we never got this far into the memory since trying it. I guess stopping the memory has a cumulative effect. We haven‘t really given in to it since we discovered this.”

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Emma nodded in understanding. The key word was acting like a defense, and no doubt they thought that if they used it more, the effects would be stronger. She tried not to look directly at them, since it was getting obvious to her that Richard‘s normal gentleman like manner was almost gone. She also noticed that Yvette‘s normally pleasant persona which she displayed in public now had almost melted away as well. “I can see that, but do you even recall who that woman was in the image? I have a feeling she‘s at the root of it. Your defenses just folded when I went directly for this image. No doubt, it puts a hole in the defenses for anyone going right for it, and allows others to get through.”

She heard another gasp from Yvette, and noticed the young lady was now trying to undo the buttons on her blouse. “She must be linked to it. Everything Mojo had put us through had been laced with pheromones. If that one is the one that stands out, then she must have been the one in control of, or making them.” She then saw Yvette almost lock eyes with her, before she noticed the girl was glancing down. “You may want to leave soon. I think whatever ‘The Incident’ invokes in us is starting to affect you.”

Emma looked down, and gasped in surprise. She was undoing her top as they had been speaking. Obviously, there was more power in the memory than she suspected. She quickly stopped herself, and decided that she needed to leave her office. “I see what you mean. I shall leave. All I ask is that you don‘t make a mess in here.”

She made her way to the door, making sure she wasn‘t looking at the two teachers. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard Yvette say, “Miss Frost, we had mentioned the snake skinned woman to Beast before we left for here. We haven‘t heard back from him on it, but it‘s possible he might know something.”

Emma had remembered that Beast had tried to call, and then remembered that Monet had intercepted the call. She would have to get in touch with him again, and the time difference between Ireland and the United States would make that difficult. She was lost on that thought for a moment, and then remembered that she needed to get out of the room. That reminder came about when an article of clothing hit the wall near the door.

Emma quickly bolted out of the door, and just to be safe, locked it so no one could enter. Of course, if the same psychic backlash happened that had happened on the redheaded teacher‘s birthday, she might have to keep everyone out of the building. That was if she had enough time to psychically contact everyone.

A sudden movement brought her out of that thought. She turned in its direction, but saw nothing. What she did hear was someone running. Someone had been spying on the session she had with Richard and Yvette. She already suspected who it might be, but she gave chase. It was actually safer than being near her office at the moment.

Just as she turned the corner she was certain she heard the sound from, she saw Doreen Green entering the same all, with Jubilation in tow. Emma wondered what it was all about, but she had to be certain who had been spying on them. "Doreen, did you happen to see who might have just run through this hall?" She honestly didn't expect a positive answer, but she had to be certain.

As she expected, Doreen shook her head. "Can't say that I did. What I do know, however, is that our vampire here needs to get in touch with her former team leader." That made her pause. First the issue with Monet, then the teachers, and now this. To be honest with herself, this was something she didn't need.

She looked back in the direction of her office, decided against going back there, and then said, "Alright, but let's talk about this in your office. Mine is a bit unavailable at the moment." She watched as the other teacher nodded. She then followed Doreen to her office, all the while, keeping an eye out for whomever had been trying to listen in to her meeting.

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Roxy Washington slowed down when she heard Emma talking with the new teacher. She tried to hear the what they were talking about, but the only thing she could catch was that the vampire girl, Jubilation, was having an issue of some sort. She wasn't sure what it was, but she had noticed that the girl had been gaining some color back in her skin. Was the vampire losing her powers? If that was the case, it was something Monet needed to know.

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Since they had gone back to the teacher's office, she figured she should go report that to her mistress. She turned to do so, and almost walked right into Sean Cassidy. She had completely forgotten that the school had the Irish mutant as a headmaster, and something about his power started to awaken the hunger she now had in her. She even started to feel the mouths opening on the palms of her hands. If she gave in to the hunger now, against her mistress's wishes, she would destroy the plans her mistress had cultivated.

Before she could apologize, the other headmaster spoke. "Sorry about that, Roxy. I was just going to speak with Emma about something. What were you doing up here?" She hadn‘t been aware that the other headmaster had been looking for any of the staff, and she was certain her presence there would need a good excuse.

Since Mr. Cassidy might not be fully aware of Monet‘s actions, she decided on one that anyone would believe. “I had come up here looking for Mr. Cale and Miss Yvette. I had a question about one of their assignments, and I wanted to clarify it.” She hoped her facial expressions were enough to sell the lie.

After what seemed like an eternity, she saw Sean nod, and then answer. “Ah yes. They have been having some meetings with Emma.” She then watched as he looked off in the direction of Emma‘s Office. “Might be best for ye to wait until they are done with the meeting, down at their offices.”

She nodded, thankful that the other headmaster didn‘t seem to think she was suspicious. “I suppose you are right, sir. I‘ll go there right away and wait.” She started to resume on the path she was headed, back to the dorm rooms.

She paused when Sean cleared his throat. She looked back at him, and he said, “Their office is the other direction. I take that it is a serious matter you wish to talk to them about.” She nodded, and changed her direction. As she passed Sean, she noticed that he was watching her, obviously thinking she was acting suspicious. That wasn‘t good.

She went down the hall that led to the teacher‘s offices, and she was certain that the other headmaster‘s gaze was following her. It was attention she didn‘t need, since it would make it hard for Monet to do what she wanted. She also didn‘t want to try anything yet, since she had seen a demonstration of the other headmaster‘s mutant power.

When she was certain the headmaster wasn‘t watching her, she went past the teacher‘s offices, pausing only momentarily when she heard Miss Frost saying, “Alright, I‘ll get in touch with them. We do need to find out why your vampire powers are waning, Jubilation. I would not be surprised if that was the case, given some of the dubious habits of the leader of that group.”

That confirmed what she had already deduced. It would make the one known as Jubilation less of a threat. Might even make her easier for Monet to control, since the other one seemed resistant to Monet‘s psychic attempts. It was more information to give to Monet, and Roxy silently left the office area, especially since the talking seemed to stop. Possibly her presence was detected, and they went quiet. She picked up her pace, and made her way through the halls until she reached the dorm area.

She had picked up her pace, especially as she neared where Monet‘s room was located. She wasn‘t sure if it had been assigned that way, or what the girl had chosen, but it was at the end of one of the halls. As she neared the room, Roxy was blind to anything around her. It was for that reason she tripped over something, landing flat on her face. She groaned for a moment, and then looked back at what she had tripped over.

She involuntarily tried to crawl away from it. It was a gut reaction, since she recognized what she had tripped over. It was one of the slugs that were part of Japheth’s mutant power. She then looked up to see the young man was just coming out of a room. He had a smile on his face, and she realized that the fact that she had tripped over the thing was an accident. “Sorry about that, Roxy. I didn‘t know that Eany had crawled out of the room.”

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Japheth went to offer a hand to Roxy. He noticed that she didn‘t take it at first, and he figured it was due to his mutant power. The two slugs had a tendency to gross people out. Even the one teacher, Richard Cale, had said the ability unnerved him a little. In hopes of making the crystal skinned girl feel better, he even tried to joke about the incident. “Honestly, Roxy, if I knew you were going to be in such a hurry, I would have kept him on a lead.”

He felt a little bad when Roxy didn't accept his hand, but got up on her own. "It's alright. I was just in a hurry to see Monet. I should have been more careful." He felt a bit upset about that, but he understood that Roxy and Monet had gotten into a relationship. Shortly after they had arrived at the school, he had been a bit enchanted by Monet, but lately something seemed odd.

He wanted to tell Roxy his own doubts, but he felt they would have fallen on deaf ears. He did, however, think he could convince her to rethink her own views about the teachers. "True. By the way, isn't it horrible how Miss Yvette can't leave. I can't see her as a killer. She seems so nice." He had remember Monet complaining about the teachers, but since the word got out she was accused of murder, he had a hard time believing that, or Monet's complaints.

Part of Japheth was certain Roxy would agree, especially since he remembered she had thought Yvette was worthy of a crush. To his surprise, he heard her say, "Not really. I know for a fact that she's responsible. Those pictures from Moscow are doctored." This made him raise an eyebrow, since he never heard of those. They way Roxy reacted to his own reaction made her realize she made a mistake. "You don't know about those?"

He shook his head, and then responded. "Nope. This is the first I ever heard of pictures from Moscow. My own beliefs came from just observing her, and her power." He noticed that she looked more worried now than she had before. He then shrugged and said, "Besides, with her power, the deaths would be bloodier than what we've heard."

When those last words were said, he saw Roxy motion to Monet's door, and quickly went to it, saying, "Listen, she did it. I know the truth because Monet knows the truth." He then saw her disappear into Monet's room, and he could have sworn he heard the door lock.

Her whole actions made him more suspicious about the relationship the two had. He first looked at Eany, and just said, "Time to come home." At that moment, the slug jumped right into him, passing through his skin, and reentering his abdomen. He was now whole, and he moved closer to the door.

As he neared, he heard Roxy speaking, and she sounded worried. "Also, the vampire is losing her powers. On a bad note, everyone is getting suspicious of me." That was an odd thing to say, in his mind. It sounded like they were happy about the misfortune of others, and even worse, something that seriously weakens the others. That didn't sound good at all.

He remained near, even though he had a sudden feeling that doing so would be a bad thing for him. This was because Monet had started speaking. "They were already suspicious of you, Roxanne. Luckily, with what you told me, tomorrow morning will be the perfect time to start the plan. Our associate has gotten a nice little lynch mob together, and with what you told me about Richard and Yvette, I know how to get both out of our hair in one blow." That worried him more than the feeling he had just had. It was now obvious to him that Monet was setting Yvette up, and even worse, was causing trouble for the school. He had to tell the others about this.

He was about to go when another word caught his attention, and it had come from Roxy. "That's all well and good, but what about this hunger. It's starting to get unbearable." He knew about a pain like that, but after hearing about Emplate, Japheth wondered if it had something to do with that.

After wondering that, he started to worry that Monet might share some of the same traits as her brother. That concern increased when he heard Monet's voice again. "Of course it is. I'll let you satisfy that hunger when we have the school, but no sooner. You do have to be punished for allowing someone else to find out about us." Those words made everything in him go on high alert. It sounded to him like Monet already suspected that he was listening in.

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He started to move, but when the door swung open, he froze. Standing there was Monet, and she had an evil look on her face. It was made worse by a smile that then crossed it. "Ah, Japheth. I was just talking about you. Why don't you come in?" He wanted to decline, but the way she grabbed him told him there would be only one answer she would accept. To make things worse, he noticed that she had mouths on the palms of her hands. She was indeed like her brother, and to his horror, he was to be her next meal.

End Issue.

Next Issue : The Reveal

From the author:

As always, I want to thank all the readers for various things. First off, thank you for reading. I try to make all these issues worth while for you. I also want to thank you for being so patient. I know I usually only post something once a month, but it gives me time to plan out and write a good story for you all. I also want to thank those readers who have commented, and let me know you've been reading my series.

For those who have been enjoying my work here, I invite you to check out my work on Fanfiction.net. Also, in the past few months, I have started ePublishing, and invite all of you to look into my first publication, an adaptation of an audio play. Here it is for Kindle, and on Smashwords, and for the Nook.