One morning, a bunch of kids were gathered around one kid standing at a trash can turned upside down in the ally. There was a deck of cards in the corner of the can, and three set down in the center in a line. The hand of that one kid flipped over the middle card to reveal a Queen. "There she is. Now...which one of you losers thinks that you’re fast enough to keep up with her? Any takers?" The speaker was obviously female. The kids exchanged glances, and then one littler one came up, slightly nervous.
"Um, I’ll give it a try..."
"Ha! You?! How much ya got, shrimp?" She laughed, and the kid looked up at her. She was about seventeen and she wasn’t really muscular, but she was slightly taller than normal. She also had long blonde hair that was slightly wavy. She was wearing jeans and a white shirt, along with a black leather jacket. She had boots to match. Under the sleeves of her jacket she had on bandages around her wrists. Nobody asked about them because the last person was said to still be recovering in the hospital.
"Um...about five dollars?" He pulled out a bill.
"Good for you, shrimp. That’s the minimum you can bet. I’ll take that, thank you." She snatched it from his hand and flipped the queen back over. "Ready...keep your eyes on the queen." She began to shuffle the three cards around, really fast, then she stopped. "Alright, where is it?"
"Uh...that one..." He pointed to the card on the right. She flipped it over and it was a two.
"Ha, nice try, loser. Anybody else care to give it a shot?" The rest of the kids shook their heads.
"Come on, school’s about to start." One of the kids said, and they all left. She smirked.
"Mustn’t be late for school now....heh." She walked in the other direction. "I don’t think I feel like it today. I’m gonna start working on my little talent..." She looked both ways to find the street empty, then ran for the lake.
~Xavier Institute~
MUTANT SIGNATURE DETECED. NAME: RUBY STONE. LOCATION: SOUTH BAY, FLORIDA.
Cerebro flashed."Hmm..." The professor held his chin and thought for a minute. "I’m sure Jean would be best to help this girl." Jean, I’d like you to go to Florida. There is someone there who might need us... He sent Jean a mind message.
~Lake Okeechobee~
She smirked again as she hid behind the trees on the lakeside. She sat down where no one could see her, and she took of her jacket to reveal that her wrist bandages extended up to her elbows. She removed her bandages and also revealed strange looking fins. (Think about the Zora on Zelda: Majora’s Mask. Remember those huge fins that he used as boomerangs? Well, hers look sorta like that, only red and smaller. And she can’t detach them from her arm.) She also took off her boots. Her feet had those same bandages. When she took those off, she had much smaller and different looking fins sprouting from her ankles. She lifted her hands and stared at the water. She concentrated and the water rose and rose to form a massive tidal wave. She waved her hand to the left and the wave slammed the pier on the left. She smirked again. "I love doing this..."
"Yes, but if you keep practicing here, people will get suspicious and surround the lake, looking for answers. If you care to join us, I can show you where you can practice on the beach. I’ll even enroll you within my school." Said a figure from behind her. She jumped up and took a fighting stance.
"Show yourself, or I’ll come over there and make you." She growled. The figure calmly walked out. She watched the tall woman known as Raven Darkholme approach her. "What kind of teacher are you?"
"The principal of Bayville High. I’ve noticed your talents and I find them very useful."
"Good for you. What’s in it for me if I come to your dinky school?" She was putting her boots and jacket back on.
"Well, like I said, you get all the practice you want with me without having to hide anything. And my so called ‘dinky school’ also holds other mutants such as yourself." She transformed into Mystique.
"And I thought I looked like a freak...well alright. But I’m not doing this to please you. I’m doing this because the cops around here know me too well."
"Alright then, let’s go." She transformed back into Darkholme and they walked back out, passing Jean and Scott.
"Looks like we’re too late." Scott muttered.
"I don’t think we would have had a good chance to show her the institute anyway. She looks more like the brotherhood type." Jean sighed.
~Back at Bayville High~
"Hey guys, listen up." Todd the Toad Tolensky was talking to his three teammates, Lance Alvers, Pietro Maximoff, and Fred Dukes.. "We got ourselves another new girl and she’s got ‘babe’ written all over her if you know what I’m sayin’. Man, she’s hot."
"Yeah, too bad you won’t have a chance with her. I think I’ll just zip over there and say hi." Pietro smirked and dashed off at hyper speed. Lance looked around nervously.
"Good, no one was around to see that. Now come on, I’ll check her out later. We gotta go." The three walked off.
At Ruby’s locker, Pietro stopped at the end of the hallway and walked over to her. "Hi, haven’t seen you around here before."
"Maybe that’s because I’m a new student, you moron." She put the books in her bag and started to leave.
"Hey wait...I didn’t quite catch your name...I’m Pietro, Pietro Maximoff."
"And I’m currently annoyed by your presence, so beat it." She glared.
"Fine, but I’ll be back later." He left. And I thought Lance had a bad attitude....
She rolled her eyes and walked to her first class. At least the guys around here are somewhat better looking than the ones back home, except that slimy one. If he comes near me again, he’ll regret it. She opened the door to her first class.
"Well, are you the new student we’ve been expecting?" Asked the teacher.
"No, I’m just walking around the school and decided to walk into this room at random." She folded her arms.
"Take a seat, Miss Stone. I’m not impressed with your attitude."
"Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know I was supposed to impress you." She smirked and walked over to her seat behind some random guy. He turned around and smiled at her. She glared at him, which made him swallow and turn back around.
"Alright, class. Calm down. It’s time to get started."
Later at lunch, Ruby sat down with her cards. She shuffled them out of boredom. Lance, Pietro, and Toad walked over and sat around her. She rolled her eyes. "What do you losers want?"
"Pardon...losers?" Lance raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think you’re better than all of us?"
"I didn’t say I think I’m better. I just said you’re a bunch of losers, so why don’t you beat it?"
"Because we have nothing better to do with our time."
"That’s surprising." She said sarcastically. "So what do you want?"
"How about you’re name?" Pietro smiled.
"Oh God, if I tell you, will you go away?"
"No."
"Okay, get lost."
"Nope, don’t think so."
"Hey, slimeball..." She turned to Toad. "Didn’t I say that if I saw you again, I’d tie you to the flagpole by your tongue?"
"Oh wow, look at the time, uh...gotta go." He hopped off quickly.
"Ha...what a loser."
"I bet you couldn’t do that anyway." Lance smirked. She stood up.
"Wanna try me?" She glared.
"Sure, I could beat you so easily it isn’t even funny." He stood up and smirked again.
"Fine, ready?" Some people started to gather around cheering ‘Fight, fight, fight!’
"Let’s rock!" He grinned and slammed his fist into one hand. But just then, Ms Darkholme stepped through the crowd.
"Both of you, in my office. Now." Ruby stuck her tongue out at him and he glared at her. Once they were in her office, Raven became Mystique again. "Lance...is that any way to treat our newest member?"
"What?! You mean, she’s with us?!"
"Aw man...you mean to tell me that he’s one of us?"
"Wait a minute...this is a good thing...because now I can really rock you! Of course, only for training purposes boss..."
"It had better be only for training purposes. She’s important."
"Ha! Hear that? I’m important."
"Shut up."
"You can’t tell me what to do."
"I can tell you whatever I want."
"No you can’t. I’d like to see you try."
"My pleasure..." He growled.
"Quit this bickering at once! Need I remind you, that you’re on the same team?"
"He started it."
"No I didn’t!" Mystique had had enough. She began to transform into a large monster.
"If you don’t be quiet this instant...." She crushed the desk.
"Alright, alright." Ruby folded her arms. Lance nodded. Mystique re-transformed back into her normal blue self.
"Good. Now that you two know each other, I want you to meet the rest of the team, Ruby." She called in the rest of the Brotherhood.
"Good, familiar faces. Cept for the big guy. Who’re you?"
"Fred Dukes. Also known as the Blob, the immovable!" He grinned.
"Right..."
"Pietro is known for his speed." Pietro zipped right beside her. "Call me Quicksilver. I’m excellent at speed games. Especially with cards. Ever play speed? I’m a master. I told you I’d figure out your name sooner or later."
"Good for you..." She rolled her eyes.
"Toad is well...Toad."
"Hey!"
"Ew...he’s on our side too?"
"Yeah, check this." He lashed his tongue out and grabbed the chair and pulled it under her. She practically gagged.
"Gross..."
"And Avalanche can control earthquakes."
"Yeah. I’ll demonstrate later when I feel like it." He folded his arms. "So what can you do?"
"I work with the water. What kind of a name is Avalanche anyway? I mean avalanches happen when snow falls down a mountain. It has nothing to do with earthquakes. Avalanches are usually caused by loud noises in the mountains. Well, maybe an earthquake could cause an avalanche, but still...." She shrugged.
"Oh, and I suppose what they call you is so much better."
"At least it describes what I am."
"Which is..."
"Tidal Wave."
"Oh how original."
"If I wanted your opinion I would have asked for it."
"I don’t have to wait for you to ask me anything."
"Like I would ask you for anything anyway."
"That’s it...out of my office, everyone. Especially you two. You couldn’t get along if your lives depended on it. I will see you after school." They shrugged and left, with Lance and Ruby arguing all the way. Mystique turned to her crushed desk and sighed.
~After School~
"I can’t believe her. She is so annoying and obnoxious. I can’t believe you three all like her." Lance folded his arms and snorted. They were all hanging out in the football field of Bayville High, waiting for Mystique and Ruby.
"Oh sorry, Lance. We didn’t know that we weren’t supposed to like her unless you did." Pietro said.
"Yeah, come on, man. She ain’t that bad." Toad hopped up on a bleacher and sat down.
"I thought you were afraid of her."
"I am, but you gotta admit...she’s hot."
"Oh please. She a pain in the..." Someone tapped his shoulder. He turned around. "...neck." He glared at Ruby.
"Gee thanks, I feel the same way. And to make you feel better, Mystique has some good news."
"She’ll be living with us. I suggest you get used to it, Lance." Lance groaned. Pietro, Toad and Fred grinned.
"On one condition. I get my own room and bathroom. And if I catch any one of you in my room, I’ll take the liberty of flooding yours. Okay?"
"Sure."
"Alright."
"No prob."
"Anything you say, Ruby." Lance smirked.
"And no earthquakes trashing my room..." He snapped his fingers.
"Aw, man. You take the fun out of everything." She rolled her eyes.
~Back at the Brotherhood Mansion.~
"Gross. You guys live like...a bunch of guys." Ruby looked around the messy living room with disgust.
"Yep. Welcome home, Ruby." Lance smirked at her. She glared at him. Then she turned to Mystique.
"Oh well, I’m used to it. Can I go to my room now?"
"This way, Ruby." Mystique led her down the hall into a medium sized guestroom.
"This’ll do, I guess." Ruby shrugged. She walked over to the window and stared out. She had a wonderful view of the beach.
"So...what did your parents say when they found out that you’re living with a bunch of guys?" Lance was leaning on the side of the door. He hoped that they wouldn’t approve so she’d go away.
"I don’t have any parents, just six brothers. And they all agreed that I’m not the one to be worrying about, if you know what I mean." She smirked. (Okay they’ll probably be exchanging evil smirks all through the story so just bear with me.)
"Ooh, now I’m scared." He rolled his eyes.
"Oh just get lost. I thought I warned you to stay out of my room."
"I’m not even in your room."
"Yes you are, your leaning on the door of my room."
"Right. And the door is on the outside of your room."
"No it’s not, it’s on the inside of my room."
"No it isn’t."
"Yes it is."
"No it isn’t."
"Yes it is." Mystique folded her arms.
"Take it outside, you two. Now. You’re both gonna drive me crazy..." She muttered and walked out.
"Fine, I’ll take this outside. Let’s go, Ruby."
"Ladies first."
"I’m gonna give you a concrete crashing for that."
"I’m scared. Really." She yawned and they both walked out to the beach.
"Ready to lose, hardhead?"
"Let’s rock."
"Oh please. If I hear ‘rock’ one more time...."
"Rock, rock, rock." He smirked.
"You’re dead." She threw off her bandages and raised her hands. A massive tidal wave rose from the ocean, and engulfed the two. Lance surfaced and coughed. The wave had carried them out far into the ocean. He swore. Now Ruby had the advantage. Speaking of Ruby, he looked around and couldn’t find her.
"Now what is she up to...?" Suddenly two hands tightly gripped his shoulders and yanked him down into the water. One of the hands moved over and covered his mouth. He shook his head, then sneezed. He opened his eyes, and blinked. He was actually breathing the water!
"Come on, come on...are you gonna fight, or what?" Ruby folded her arms.
"Uh...what on earth happened to you legs?"
"Huh?...Oh, that. It helps me swim fast. I could easily whip Pietro in a swimming race." She said. They were referring to her mermaid-like fin.
"Don’t tell him that."
"I can tell him whatever I please."
"Whatever." He rolled his eyes. "Why are we doing this in the water?"
"Because I have the advantage."
"I hate you."
"That’s shocking news."
"Are you gonna start now, or just keep argu..."He felt a painful sting in his cheek. She had taken her tail fin and slapped him. "Finally." He muttered. Then, he spotted a rock above her and shook it loose. It fell and she turned around and quickly carried it away with a current. He swore.
~Back at the beach~
"I wonder who’s winning down there..." Toad asked.
"Probably Ruby."
"Yeah." After awhile, Ruby walked backed out of the water. Lance dragged behind, and coughed.
"I won." She grinned.
"You wouldn’t last two minutes on land." He growled. She stuck her tongue out at him.
"I could if I wanted to."
"Fine. Rematch tomorrow, this time...we won’t do it anywhere near the water. And then we’ll see how tough you are..."
"Fine."
"Fine." They all went inside.
~The next morning.~
The four boys were in the kitchen finishing breakfast. "Hey...has anyone seen Ruby?" Toad asked.
"She’s still in the shower." Pietro replied.
"Mmph...that gives me an idea." Lance said as he swallowed the last bite of his egg. With a grin he rushed over and turned on the dishwasher. Then he went over to the washing machine and turned that on full blast. "Now to go downstairs..." He went downstairs and found the hot and cold water pipelines. He started to mess around with them. "Three...two....one..." He looked up at the ceiling and smiled with satisfaction as he heard Ruby’s scream echo through the house. "Aaah!" He gasped with fear as the pipelines burst and water shot out and shoved him back into the wall. He slid down the wall and rubbed his head. "Ow..." He muttered. Ruby threw open the basement door. She was dripping wet and covered with a red bathrobe. Her hair was up in a white towel. She glared down at him while smirking.
"Was that worth it?"
"Hey, had to get you out of there some way..."
"You know I’m gonna get you back for this..."
"What...like this wasn’t revenge enough?" He looked down at the floor, which was flooded about three inches.
"Nope." They both glared at each other. Mystique walked up behind Ruby and folded her arms.
"The water, Ruby." Ruby nodded and removed the water from the basement. Lance stood up and shook his drenched head. Mystique sighed. "If I catch you two arguing or fighting like this again, you’ll be grounded. And I don’t care how much you two enjoy doing this." She left the room. Lance and Ruby exchanged glances. They both realized that they did enjoy arguing with each other.
"Now see what you did." Lance growled.
"You started it."
"It’s not my fault you spend too long in the shower."
"I practically breath water, what do you expect?"
"I bet fish wouldn’t stay that long in there."
"Not after a bunch of guys like you use it." By now, Toad, Pietro, and Fred had entered.
"You okay, Ruby?" Pietro asked. She rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, I’m fine." She muttered. "I’m gonna get dressed now." She went back to her room.
"We’d better get ready for school before Mystique starts to nag us." Fred said.
~At School~
Once again Ruby and Lance had fought their way back into the principal’s office. Mystique groaned. "What do I have to do to stop you two? It’s like I’m dealing with a couple of little kids."
"Easy. Throw her out and then we won’t have any more problems." Mystique shook her head.
"We need her to aid us in the destruction of the X-men. Throwing her out is not an option." Ruby stuck her tongue out at him. He glared at her. Mystique sighed again.
~~~~~To Be Continued.~~~~~