Liquid Metal: An X-men & QuickSilver Novel

Chapter Twenty Three: Green

I bundled even further into my regrettably thin jacket as I stumbled to keep up with my magical friend.

"Ya know, sometimes I wonder if you and your brother both got super speed" I grumbled.

"Nope! He's fast, I'm just weird" She chirped.

"But let's be honest, my mutation is way cooler" She added and paused for me to catch up. Wanda looped her arm around mine once I did.

"More like terrifying" I replied with a chuckle.

To completely describe Wanda's powers is nearly impossible. I put it simply; she controls "chaos magic" and probability. This means she can pretty much do what ever the hell she pleases. Thank god she's not insane.

The sun was setting over the city and cast an illuminating an orange glow over the brick buildings as I let this witchy girl drag me around block after block. Eventually she found where she was planning on going.

"I need to go talk to the store manager, can you wait out here for a few seconds?" She asked and before I even got a chance to refute her statement, I was cut off.

"Great thanks! I won't be long I promise." And suddenly I was standing all by myself in a part of town I had never been to before.

"Well this is fantastic." I mumbled wondering how long frost bite took to set in. "Why even bring me out if I'm just gonna stand out in the cold?" I muttered as I sat down on a bench with a huff.

I decided to make a game out of my waiting and started to count how many mutants passed by, either in a car or on foot. It proved to be mildly entertaining. I even managed to count twenty four mutants (well if you can count a soon to be born infant and four kids with latent powers as a whole mutant) that was until one mutant caught my eye.

He was bustling quickly through people that walked along the street, constantly glancing over his shoulder in a jumpy way. His hood was up so that it covered his face, but I still could read him. My powers didn't suck that bad.

I stood quickly and danced my way across the street, missing cars by only millimeters.

"Chris!" I shouted trying to get his attention now that I had made it to the opposite side. "Hey!-- Muse!" He must have heard me because he paused for a brief moment to look for the person who was calling his name.

"Josie?" He asked with bewilderment. I bounced on my toes with excitement to see him. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing" I chirped as I beamed at him "how did you get out?" I asked, my jovial demeanor switching in an instant. I stood more rigidly and less bouncy.

"Riot" he said in a monochromatic voice. I felt my stomach deflate like a balloon.

"How many got out?"

"A little more than half."

"Where are they now?" I asked feeling my hopes rise ever so slightly. He paused looking me over skeptically.

"If you're asking about Lorna then yeah she got out" I felt my knees want to give out with relief upon hearing this, "come on, I'll take you too her" Chris began, but I stopped him.

"Hang on, I was waiting for a friend. Give me two seconds." With that, I ninja-ed my way back across the street and barged into the store that Wanda was in.

I saw them pause their conversation and look at me. I did a quick read on the woman who she spoke to. Her name was Lara King and she was a mutant with mild powers of deception. At the current moment she was portraying herself as just some lady who inherited an old antique shop from her grandfather. She knew Wanda only from previous business encounters. Lara could change the way people saw her. It was kind of slightly impressive. No better than my mutation.