X-Men Fan Fiction ❯ Witness ❯ You keep too many secrets… ( Chapter 33 )

Authors Note/Disclaimer:

I do not own XMen Evolution, its characters, or the universe they live in. I intend no disrespect or copyright infringement. This is a work of adult fan fiction and is intended only for entertainment purposes. I make no money from this work.

This chapter is plot and character development...No sex. Actually, I don't anticipate a whole lot of sex from here on out, it's just not in the plot. No warnings that I can think of.

As always, constructive criticism is welcome.

Please see the first chapter for complete warnings for this piece.

Chapter Thirty Three: You keep too many secrets…

Todd was half-way back from the store with the groceries when it occurred to him that maybe he shouldn’t have left Riss alone. In fact, he was pretty sure she had deliberately gotten rid of him. Crap.

She was hiding things from him. He knew it. It sure looked like he had interrupted something this morning. But, what was it? Didn’t exactly look like they were fooling around. Rogue had never struck him as someone willing to share…Definitely not like that.

I really need to talk to her.

He pulled up in the driveway and parked. He grabbed the bag with the milk and eggs first and headed inside.

Fred and Angie were busy cleaning up the kitchen. Jeez…Fred looked pissed.

“Did you get any Twinkies?”

“They’re in the jeep, yo.”

“Don’t worry, hon. I’ll go get them.” Angie patted Todd’s arm in passing, leaving him with Fred.

“They ate everything…” Fred grumbled. A hungry Fred is no fun to be around.

“You seen Riss?” Todd set the bag on the counter, anxious to leave the immediate area.

“She’s in the basement.”

“Thanks.”

“Did you get orange juice?”

“In the jeep.” Todd waved over his shoulder as he headed downstairs.

She was in her office, of course. She spent so much time down here she was starting to look pale…almost Goth or something. He stopped in the doorway. She wasn’t alone.

Crap.

She was typing something on the computer and that Remy guy was leaning over her shoulder, pointing at the screen. His other hand was on the back of her neck. Something about the gesture was so intimate that it made Todd’s stomach twist.

“Dis encryption is s’posed to be unbreakable. De man dat design it, he one of de best…” The man turned to look over his shoulder at Todd. He straightened and waved Todd inside.

“Come in, homme. We almost done.” Remy gave him a measuring look then returned his attention to the screen. Marissa glanced up at him and smiled.

“Glad you’re back. I know you don’t go for the geek stuff…But, this is so cool!” Marissa returned her gaze to the screen and tapped a few more keys, reaching one hand out for him. Todd took her hand and she pulled him close.

“What’s so cool?” Todd had no idea what he was looking at. Computers were never his thing.

“I can track all my clients from here…Who’s looking at who’s profiles. Who’s listed as a mutant or a confirmed carrier…or whatever I want. And this system is locked down super-tight. Remy’s got some connections…you can’t buy this kind of security…legally.”

“Sounds…um…kind of creepy, yo.” Todd watched as the other man sat down at the open laptop on the desk nearby.

“Yeah…That’s me. The ultimate snoop.” Marissa shot him a grin. “But, really…I just want to make sure no one can use this information to cause trouble. Because this thing has really taken off…”

“If dis firs’ report is correct, dere more people dat got de gene den anyone tink.” Remy was typing on the laptop, fingers flashing.

“Could be the data’s skewed a bit…People who think they might have the gene are more likely to sign up for the service, maybe.” Marissa added.

“How do you know who’s got the gene?” Todd tried to remember what she had told him, but he really hadn’t been paying much attention. That had been the night they’d talked about having a baby.

“Voluntary DNA testing…remember? If you have the x-factor, the service is free.”

“They can test for that?”

“Sure.”

“De testing pretty accurate.” Remy tapped a few keys on Marissa’s keyboard, reaching over her arm with long fingers. “Dis report, it should give us some idea ‘bout dat t'eory of yours.”

“What theory?” Todd scowled; he hadn’t come here to talk about theories.

“Not just mine…But, you know me. I’ve got to see it for myself. I think…That there’s some sort of mechanism or instinct that makes people who carry the x-factor attracted to each other more often than they are to normals. Not sure exactly what it is…possibly pheromones, maybe something else.”

The printer started spitting out pages of text. Marissa snatched the first page off of the machine and began to scan it, biting her lip.

“This testing…Magneto did that with you, right?” She’d said she had this x-factor hadn’t she?

“Mmm…Hmm…Plus I got myself tested by the same company that does our Legacy checks.” Marissa was grabbing for the next page, her attention on the report.

“Did it all match up?” Todd tried to make sense of the report as he looked at it over her shoulder.

“Actually, no.”

“So you’re not carrying the gene after all?” Well, that would be a relief…though it was a little bit of a let down.

“Non?” Remy had stopped typing and was looking at her, now. “You don’ tell Remy dis.”

“What?” Marissa set down the pages and looked from one to the other.

“No. I have the gene…But, I’m not a carrier. I have two copies of the gene.” Marissa looked at Remy, who didn’t seem terribly surprised. Todd was really confused now…

“I’m a latent. All this shit Magneto’s been putting me through…I think he’s been trying to figure out how to trigger my mutation. If he could figure that out…He could double, maybe even triple or quadruple the number of active mutants.”

“You sure dat you’re a latent? Remy not so sure.”

“What about the baby? Why does he care about that?” Todd’s head was spinning. Carriers, latents…huh? He really wished he’d paid more attention in school.

“I’m not completely sure…Maybe it’s just the principle that if he can’t make my mutation go active, at least I can be a breeder? Or maybe this is one more test…See if pregnancy will trigger it?”

“Maybe he do wan’ what he say he want. An heir…one dat he know is a mutant...Wanda and Pietro…neither one is…ah…stable. Dere something wrong in de blood, maybe.”

“You mean Wanda and Pietro are both nuts?” Todd knew it was true…But, he didn’t like some outsider saying it. And both of them were doing much better lately.

“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…Magneto’s not quite firing on all four cylinders himself, if you ask me.” Marissa tapped a few more keys on the keyboard, and then turned her chair around to face them.

“Your question, Rem…If I am active…It’s something subtle, something that can’t quite be measured. Or at least we can’t figure out how. I think that’s what some of those lessons were about. See if I fall outside the human range at something, I guess.”

“P’rhaps…” The man’s red-eyed gaze was thoughtful.

“What does that mean for the baby?” That was the important thing, at least to him.

“The baby will be a mutant…couldn’t be anything but, I think.” Marissa was fiddling with the report again. “You’ve got to show these numbers to Magneto, Rem…We’ve got something here.”

Todd watched as the other two shared a glance that made him feel once again as if he’d missed something. In that moment, he came to a decision.

“Is there something going on between you two? Something I should know about?”

Now he had their attention. Marissa put down the report.

“Remy tell you, you keep too many secret, cher.”

“I’m not mad…I just want to know what’s going on.” Todd fidgeted nervously. Now that he’d asked, he kind of regretted the question. “Can’t exactly get pissed about something like that after what happened last night, right?”

“Like what, Todd?” Marissa still held his hand and her grip tightened.

“Don’ treat him like a child.” Remy scowled at her.

“I don’t want him involved.”

“Involved in what, yo?”

“He already involve’ up to his ears. You got no problem wit’ involvin’ Rogue.”

“That’s different. She’s got the X Men to look out for her.”

“What are you talking about?” Whatever it was, it was obviously not what he’d been thinking. Damn it, somebody needed to tell him something!

“It Remy neck in de noose, too. Don’ got nobody to look out for him.” Remy sat back and crossed his arms, glaring at her with those freaky eyes.

“I could name one or two…But, I’ll give you the point.” Marissa looked up at Todd.

“Marissa…” Todd was caught somewhere between anger and fear. She was hiding something.

“I told you…I’ve always got a plan B.”

“Plan B?”

“Yeah. Do you know what it was I did for Salvador? What I really did before he screwed me over and started using me as a party favor?”

“No.”

“He called it the ‘Riss bomb.’ I hook up with some dude in another gang and get myself in deep. Real deep. Then I start screwing with their heads. Make them not trust each other, not trust their leader. Maybe steal something or find out where they stash their drugs, whatever. Get them fighting each other, sometimes. Got a couple of dudes killed that way.”

“An agent saboteur?” Remy raised one eyebrow in question.

“Sometimes it got real ugly – the last time I did it, shit went really wrong. I ended up almost getting killed. When I said I was out, that I wouldn’t do it anymore, that’s when he…He turned on me. Tried to put me on the street. Like he did with Angie. Bastard.” Her voice was bitter.

“I…I don’t believe you. That’s too fucked up.”

“Ask Angie what a ‘Riss bomb’ is, then. The Acolytes are just another gang, Todd. And I bombed the hell out of them. Magneto wasn’t gonna let me come home at all…”

“That’s why you…” Todd looked at Remy, who was listening with interest.

“Yeah. That’s why.” Marissa frowned. “The Acolytes ganged up on him, made him stick to what he said. If this…” Marissa held up the report. “Soft sell doesn’t get him; I need to be able to back things up with force.”

“How?”

“She got Remy…” The man held up one finger. “And she got John.” He held up a second finger.

“And we can get Peter too, if we can get his sister. That’s all that’s holding him to Magneto.”

“What about Sabertooth?” Todd felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. They were actually serious…

“Victor’s a wild card. He sided with us before…We don’t really know why. But, he won’t stand to fight a battle he knows he can’t win.” Marissa frowned.

“We need three…And we can’t let Magneto know his men have turned on him, or he’ll just replace them. I’m sure he’s got a few suspicions already.”

“This is crazy…Why would you pick a fight with Magneto?”

“Wanda asked me to do it.”

“Wanda?” Todd’s jaw dropped. “Why?”

“Because she remembers, Todd. She remembers everything.”

“Holy Shit, yo!” Todd’s mouth went dry. “But…She…She hasn’t…”

“Mastermind must have gotten something right when he was screwing around in there. She’s not quite sane…But, she’s sure as hell not as crazy as you guys told me she used to be.”

“Any confrontation dat happen…It need to be here, wit’ de Scarlet Witch. She de one mutant de boss fear.”

“What happens if Magneto finds out?

“Den Remy a dead man.”

“Why are you doing this, yo?” Todd’s mind was reeling, scrambling to make sense of things. Magneto had always been a dreaded figure looming over the Brotherhood. The idea seemed insane.

“Remy tired of dis. Been fightin’ a war dat don’ come for years now. Magneto gon’ get us all killed one day.”

“And then there’s Rogue.” Marissa added.

“Oui. Dere’s Rogue.” Remy looked at her thoughtfully. “Speaking of de Rogue, it time for Remy to go.”

The older man rose from his seat smoothly and nodded at them. Todd waited for him to leave, then took the vacant seat and propped his chin on his hand.

“Is that his wish, then? To be with Rogue?”

“To be free…Free of his past, free of Magneto and free to pursue Rogue.” Marissa ticked off each point with a finger. “Like I said, complicated.”

“Oh…So…You guys aren’t still fooling around.”

“No…Is that why you came down here?” Marissa turned to him and copied his pose.

“Kind of…I…Just need to know how you really feel. About me…About him…You almost killed somebody today…And I’m still not sure why. Kinda freaking me out, yo.”

“How I feel…”

“Yeah…Feelings…That stuff you don’t like to talk about.”

“Right now I’m feeling kind of sick…”

“Not that kind of feeling.” Todd wasn’t going to let her dodge the question this time.

“I love you…I’m having your baby…I’m taking on the great and powerful Master of Magnetism so I can raise your love child in peace…How’s that?”

“Umm…Not good enough. Kinda funny, yo. But not good enough.”

“What do you want to know?” Marissa sighed heavily.

“Him…How do you feel about him?” Todd nodded his head at the door.

“Already told you…We aren’t fooling around…” Todd frowned at her.

“If I hadn’t had someone to come home to, things might be different…I connect with him. We’re friends. I trust him even though sometimes he scares me, a little. He’s my teacher…I respect him. I want to please him, I guess.”

“Hmm…What about John?”

“John?” Marissa chewed on her lip. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me Todd…I didn’t use to care about people. Now I can’t seem to stop, even when it gets in the way.”

“What’s that got to do with John?”

“I shouldn’t care about him. He’s a psycho...And a jerk, at least half the time. But, for some reason I do care. He’s a friend I guess. At least he is now. And that sucks, because I was counting on him for cannon fodder.”

“That’s pretty cold Riss.”

“Yeah…”

“Do you love me more than Wanda? Cause after all this, I really got to wonder.”

“I love Wanda…I really do…But, I don’t think she even sees me as a person sometimes.” Marissa’s eyes dropped and she fell silent.

“So what made you mad?”

“All three of you shutting me out…And John said some really nasty things…Nasty even for him. He’s got it bad for Remy and he is really pissed about Rogue.”

“Him and Remy?” Todd’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding, yo.”

“No…But, John’s serious and Remy never was…It was just a way to rope him in.”

“This is getting more and more fucked up…So I’m almost afraid to ask, yo…Why is this my baby, again?”

“Because…It’s the one thing I can give you that I haven’t pissed away on someone else. And…I do want to have your baby…It’s…a girl thing.” She blushed and cleared her throat.

“A girl thing, huh?” Todd rose from his chair to lean over her, resting his hands on the desk behind her...

“Yeah…I was still a girl, last time I checked.” Marissa tilted her chin up to look at him, giving him a lopsided smile.

“Maybe we should check again.” Then he kissed her…


Before Remy and John left with the blood sample and reports Magneto was demanding, Todd was startled to find himself pulled aside.

“When Marissa see dis specialist?” The older man spoke in low tones, his hand grasping Todd’s elbow, stopping him in the upstairs hall.

“Wednesday. There was a waiting list, you know.” Todd pulled away. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

“Remy don’ like her color, none.” The man ignored Todd’s hostility.

“She’s been down in that office a lot. Not enough sun I guess.” The man did actually seem concerned…And Todd had noticed it, too.

“She don’ see de sun wit’ us for a long time and she don’ get dis pale.” Remy shook his head. “And she sick to her stomach...”

“She’s pregnant…Morning sickness.” Todd shrugged, but a seed of worry had sprouted.

“All de same…You make sure she go to dis doctor, take care of herself. She don’ always do dat…”

“I’ll take care of my girl, yo!” Todd scowled at him.

“Oui. Your girl…All de same, she my ‘prentice and you call me firs’ she give you any trouble. Not de boss.” The man held out a small piece of paper with a number scrawled on it.

“You think he’d snatch her back if he thought something was wrong?”

“Oui. You mama…she sick wit’ you?”

“She was sick yeah. But she was poisoned or something.” Todd looked from the paper to the man’s face. “Not the same thing.”

“Hmm…You tell de doctor, all de same.” Those red eyes seemed to bore right through him and he found himself nodding agreement.

“Bon.” And he was left standing in the hallway wondering what the hell just happened.


Maybe Remy did know Marissa better than Todd did…

“You really don’t have to come. I get poked, I pee in a cup, and they ask me some questions. No big deal.

“No. It’s my baby. I’m coming.”

“Don’t you have work?”

“I’m off.”

“I…uh…” She was fumbling for another excuse, he could tell. “I’m not comfortable with getting poked with you there.”

“You’re kidding…Not like I haven’t seen what you’ve got, already.” He had the keys to Lance’s jeep and he wasn’t giving them up.

“I’m not feeling so hot, maybe I should reschedule.”

“Oh, no. We had to wait over a month, yo! Not happening. Besides, who ever heard of not going to the doctor because you’re sick?”

“Fine! Come if you want, bring the whole damned Brotherhood for all I care!” She stomped her way to the jeep and climbed inside.

“You really want Fred to watch you ‘get poked’?” He smirked at her as he climbed into the driver’s seat. “That would be something new…”

“Not listening…” She stared out the side of the jeep as it started up.

“Oh…And Pietro…Like to see the look on his face…”

“I’m so not listening…”

“We could have brought Lance and played ‘who’s the daddy?’”

“I know at least six ways to kill you with the shit I’ve got in my pockets.”

“Kind of hard to drive if I’m dead.”

“Nine if I count what’s in my purse.”

“Only nine?”

“Make that ten…I could beat you to death with it.”

“That’s better. I think.”


Turned out the specialist was more than happy to see him. Since Marissa knew nothing of her parents, she couldn’t answer many of the doctor’s questions.

“So…Ah…Miss Lensherr? How old are you?” The doctor was a middle aged woman with short blowsy hair and a friendly smile. She scanned the questionnaire they had filled out in the waiting room. Half of Marissa’s questions were blank.

“I’m not completely sure...I was abandoned when I was little. Children’s services put me down as about 4 years old. My ID says I’m nineteen.” Marissa shrugged.

“Ah…That would explain your answers then…” The woman flipped through the form quickly. “Do you remember your family at all?”

“No.”

“Hmm…We’l l do some blood work and see what that tells us. Now, for you, young man…”

The doctor was thorough, would have made him nervous if she hadn’t seemed so…well, motherly.

She asked him about his family, and about his mother’s illness.

She asked him about his mutation and was it present at birth?

She wanted a blood sample from him too.

And a spit sample…Not regular spit, but the gooey stuff.

Wasn’t Riss supposed to be the patient here?

“Relax, Mr. Tolansky. I simply want to be sure that your particular mutation poses no threat to this pregnancy. There are rare occasions where complications occur. Quite rare.” She gave another of those motherly smiles.

But Riss wasn’t smiling…She looked nervous…

My mutation...Could be a threat?

“Now, for the fun part…Baby’s first picture.” The doctor beamed at them and waved them to the next room. Looks like someone who enjoys her work.

The sonogram room was dimly lit and the ‘table’ reminded him of a dentist’s chair, only more comfortable looking. The technician was a young woman who chattered about what she was doing as she ran the probe over Marissa’s belly.

“Hmm…There’s the uterus…and the placenta…looks good. See that, that’s the heart beating…” She continued to move the probe around and Marissa grunted a little.

“Sorry, trying to get a good picture…I think…Oh…Look there. Another heartbeat. Look doctor.” The young woman pointed to the screen.

“Another heartbeat?” Todd leaned forward.

The technician moved the probe around some more as Marissa craned her neck trying to see the monitor. The doctor murmured instructions and pointed to the screen.

“Yes, definitely a second heartbeat. Looks like you’re having twins…Congratulations.” The young woman smiled at them. “Let me print some pictures for you…”

“Twins…Are you sure?” Marissa stared wide-eyed at the screen.

“Oh yes. Two good strong healthy heartbeats. And the sizes are well within the healthy range.” The technician handed the pictures to him.

“Can you tell if they’re boys or girls?” Todd took the pictures, though they didn’t look like much to him.

“Too early to tell yet.” The technician handed Marissa a handful of tissues to clean up the gel that was smeared all over her belly.

Todd was in such a fog of excitement, that he’d forgotten the doctor’s concern about his mutation. And he didn’t notice that Marissa hadn’t spoken until they pulled into the Boarding House driveway.

“Hey…You’re awful quiet. Something wrong?”

“Yeah…Wanda.” With that she hopped out of the jeep and marched into the Boarding House.