It was early evening as Lt John Watts and Dr Sarah Young were waiting outside their barracks for Trisha to arrive. Since her arrival, Sarah had developed feelings for John. However, John didn't feel the same about her. For some reason, he was afraid of her, not because of her intelligence but there was something else about her. As they were waiting, Sarah grabbed his hand.
'Something's bothering you, isn't it, John?' She asked softly. John looked amused.
'Nothing's bothering me, Sarah,' he said as he turned his attention from her and looked at the coastline in front of the base.
Sarah let go of his hand and stepped in front of his view.
'There is something on your mind that you aren't telling me.' She snapped, 'Come on, John, tell me!'
'I've just been thinking that's all. If this plan of yours goes sour, what do we do?'
The smile on her face faded as she heard him say that, 'How will it go sour, John?' She asked vehemently.
'I don't have to remind you, Sarah, we worked with that former friend of Ms Roberts and she let us down by getting herself killed.'
Sarah laughed, 'John,' she said mockingly, 'That foolish girl was consumed by anger and rage. She thought about nothing except revenge on Stacey. Trisha, on the other hand, is a professional soldier and has more battlefield experience than either those two.'
She paused as she saw something heading toward the base. It was a small military helicopter that had been painted yellow, on both sides on the front were two large machine gun barrels, above which sat an open cockpit. John and Sarah rushed towards it as the helicopter landed a few yards from the base. The first person to get out of the aircraft was the young pilot, dressed in a red jumpsuit, helmet and a pair of large, black boots.
'Hello, Lieutenant, ma'am.' he said in a friendly, Southern American drawl, 'I hope ya both doing well?'
John gave him a hard look, 'We are both doing well, boy, where is Private Morgan, is she okay?'
The young man smiled as he slowly turned away from the chopper and spat.
'She's out in the back, sir,' he said as he turned back to face Lieutenant Watts and saluted.
'We'll take it from here, report back to base for debriefing, soldier.'
The young pilot saluted back, 'Roger that, sir, ten-four.'
He slowly turned and walked towards the barracks, leaving the helicopter. John and Sarah made their way to the rear of the chopper, where John found a slot and slowly opened the passenger's door. Sitting on a long, green leather seat was Trisha, her red hair tied in a short ponytail, wearing a green and brown army uniform. Having slept for most of the way, she was now wide awake. Seeing Lt Watts and Dr Young she stood up and saluted.
'Ms Morgan,' Dr Young said warmly, 'Welcome to our army base.'
Trisha got of the helicopter and stood tall and proud in front of them.
'Thank you, ma'am. It's an honour to have been selected for this program.' she said in a Southern American accent.
'Please follow me to the barracks, Morgan, we will get you processed there.' John said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.
The three of them made their way to the barracks, Trisha becoming excited.
'So, Doctor, what is this experiment that you want to perform on me?'
'It's not an experiment as such, Trisha it's a serum.'
'Sounds like something from one of those geeky sci-fi films.'
As they approached the barracks, Sarah put a hand out in front of Trisha.
'Before we go anywhere near the lab, I need to do a medical on you, if that's okay.'
Trisha smiled, 'Sure, Doctor, what will that involve?'
'Just a simple blood test that's all, you don't have to worry about it.'
'Sounds good, let's go for it.'
Sarah took her by her arm and led her inside, leaving John outside to have a smoke.
It was five o clock in the morning as Ben and Stacey woke up. Stacey had slept with her arm around him for the entire night. As she roused herself, she noticed Ben on the other side of the bedroom, already dressed in a pair of casual, stone-coloured trousers, a black shirt and a jacket.
'Hey, there, sleeping beauty.' he joked as she slowly got out of bed.
'Very funny, Ben.' she replied, as she tried not to laugh. He went over to the bed and held out his hand to her. 'Come on, Stacey, time to get up as we don't want to be late.'
Stacey let out a yawn and got to her feet, making her way to a large wardrobe in the middle of the room. As she went through it, she couldn't make up her mind what she wanted to wear. Finally, she came to the end and pulled out a pink tee shirt and a pair of blue skinny jeans, holding them up to her waist and smiling, 'Babe, what do you think of me in these?'
Ben nodded his approval as he came over to her, 'I think that you look hot, babe. Listen, I'll let you get ready so that we can go, okay, hun?' he said, making his way out of the room.
A few minutes later, Stacey came out wearing the pink tee shirt and the jeans, with a brown leather jacket and a pair of high heeled black leather boots. As he was looking at her Ben's jaw dropped.
'Wow,' he said, impressed, 'Looking good, babe.'
'Thank you, babe.' she said sexily, 'Are we ready to go now?' She asked as she took his hand. Ben looked at her and nodded.
'I just had a call from the pilot upstairs, he informed me that the helicopter's ready for take-off.'
Walking along the corridor, they reached an open doorway, stepping through they found themselves standing at the bottom of a long staircase. They looked at each other and smiled, then letting go of one another's hands raced up to the roof. At first, Ben was in the lead, his psychic powers giving him the edge that he needed, but he noticed Stacey gaining speed. Initially, she seemed to be holding back. As he turned his head towards her, he could sense the determination rushing through her like a storm. She caught him up and passed him, dashing up to the open door on the other side where the helipad was. When Ben met her at the top he was exhausted. Stacey smiled.
'Looks like I win today, Ben.' She said as she raised her hands in the air and cheered herself.
He smiled and grabbed her by her waist, as he did, he sensed someone behind him. Quickly turning around, he came face to face with the pilot, a middle-aged man wearing a tight, black uniform.
'Boss, I'm ready to take you and Ms Roberts to New York now.'
'Very good, Jack, just give us five minutes.'
Jack nodded and made his way to the helicopter as Ben turned to Stacey, 'Are you ready to leave here and come to New York with me?'
Stacey threw her arms around him and kissed him gently on his cheek, 'Of course, I'm ready, Ben, I can't wait, babe.'
Hand in hand, they made their way to the helicopter. Ben threw open the passenger door and they climbed inside. Stacey was surprised at how spacious it was, in the passenger area there was a large, black leather seat. While Ben and Stacey made themselves comfortable, Jack came round and closed the door.
'It's going to be good weather today, boss.'
He shouted over to Ben, 'Are you both ready?'
'We are, Jack,' Stacey shouted back at him turning to Ben with a huge grin.
Jack started the engine and the helicopter lifted gracefully from the ground, Stacey turned towards the window and looked out. The house was now only a small speck as were the other buildings, as she watched, Ben slid his arm around her shoulders, she turned and looked at him.
'It's okay,' he said softly, 'Don't worry about the house, we'll go back as soon as it's safe.'
Hearing this, she threw her arms around him and started kissing him madly. He closed his eyes and relaxed, he had predicted that once they arrived in New York they would both be safe. He had also predicted that his Florida home would be secure with the likes of Frostbite, Powerhouse, and Mist keeping watch/
'No need to worry, Ben.' he said to himself, 'All of us will be completely safe.'
Stacey couldn't believe her eyes when he helicopter finally reached the penthouse in New York on top of a huge skyscraper. She gazed at it in amazement as the helicopter began to land. Once the aircraft had landed, Jack ran round to help Ben and Stacey onto the landing pad.
'I can't wait to see what the penthouse is like inside, Ben.' She gushed as she started to undo the seatbelt that she had fastened around her waist. When they were safely clear of the rotors they held hands and started walking towards the penthouse. Before they could make it to the penthouse door, Stacey heard Jack shouting.
'Excuse me, boss,' he called, sounding worried, 'I've just received a message from the Mayor of New York, it seems like someone's got wind of your visit.'
'That's odd,' Ben replied, surprised. 'I never informed Peter that I was coming. I wonder who has.' As he was saying this, the front doors to the penthouse opened and out walked a tall, slim man, he had black skin and short, silver hair. Watching him move towards Ben, it looked to Stacey as if he was nothing but a blur.
'Boss, welcome,' the young man said in a New York accent, 'I trust that you and your friend here had a safe and pleasant journey?'
Ben looked at him with a cold stare, 'Lightspeed, did you, by any chance inform the mayor that I was coming today?'
Lightspeed looked at him and smiled, 'Boss, you know the mayor likes it when you visit the city.'
Pausing for a moment, he turned towards Stacey, winked at her, then faced Ben.
'You know, boss,' he said as he was opening the door to the helicopter to fetch their suitcases, 'I told the mayor only because I thought it would be good publicity for you both.'
Ben stood in the young man's way as he was making his way out of the passenger's seat.
'What does the mayor want?' He asked Lightspeed, agitated.
'Only that you join him tonight for a charity gala, boss.'
Stacey stepped forwards as she saw Ben's face getting red.
'Maybe Lightspeed's right, babe.' She said gently, 'Maybe this will increase our standing in the city and beyond.'
Ben looked at her and then Lightspeed, 'Okay, Lightspeed. you have Stacey's vote and mine now, tell Peter that we'll be coming tonight.'
Lightspeed smiled as he took the cases and zoomed in with them to the penthouse. They followed slowly behind holding hands as they went in. As they passed the doors, Stacey found herself looking at a large reception area. Like the one in Florida, the floor was covered in marble only this one was grey. At the centre of the room was a large, spiral staircase and towards the end stood a fountain.
'Do you like it so far?' He asked her as Lightspeed came racing down the stairs towards them.
'Cases are inside the master bedroom, boss,' he said as he turned towards Stacey and smiled at her.
Ben approached the young man and put his hand on his shoulder.
'Thank you, Lightspeed, for your help. Why don't you go into the dining area and get Jack and yourself something to eat?'
The young man grinned as he raced through the doors at the right of the main entrance.
'Is he always like that?' Stacey asked Ben in surprise. Ben turned to her with a sad look on his face.
'Lightspeed is the youngest mutant here, Stacey. His parents were killed by a gang when he was just a small boy.'
Stacey covered her mouth with her hands, 'Babe, I didn't mean to judge.'
'It's okay, Stacey, don't worry. I get annoyed with him, but he's only trying to be helpful at the end of the day.'
He let go of her hand and started walking towards the spiral staircase.
'Come on, Stacey, I'll show you to our room.'
'Please ,Ben, I can't wait.'
She quickly followed him, and as with Ben's other house, there was a long corridor at the top of the stairs and the master bedroom was the first on the right, next to the bathroom. Ben walked into the open door first and beckoned her to follow. Walking in, Stacey found that it was a similar layout to the master bedroom in Florida, apart from there being no balcony. At the end of the room, near a large window sat a four poster bed. Stacey turned and smiled at Ben who had grabbed her hand.
'I think I'm going to enjoy my stay here with you, Ben.'
Ben gently hugged her, 'I know that you are, hun, and I can't wait until tonight. We are going to blow that gala out of the water.'
It was getting late in the evening as Peter Butler waited for one of his most important guests to arrive. A middle-aged man of average height, with dark brown hair that now was greying, he was wearing a black suit with a red tie. Standing next to him was his wife, she was the same height as him and had long, light brown hair and a kind face. Being far younger than her husband, ever since they married people had questioned whether she was only after his money. She was wearing a black evening dress with a pair of high heeled shoes.
'Come on, Peter,' she said sweetly, 'You can't stand out here all night waiting for our guests to turn up.'
'I know, Rachel, but I want to make a good impression with our guests, especially our good friend, Mr Fox.'
Rachel smiled, 'Is he coming? I thought Ben was still serving in the military.'
Peter looked at his wife, 'He's retired from the military now, Rachel, his main goal in life is to help kids to get off the streets and work towards a future.'
'I know that he has helped you with you political career, darling, and you have helped him.'
As they were standing there, a large, black car pulled up outside the venue. Peter looked at it as a man in a black suit got out. 'Rachel, this looks like Ben.'
The man in the black suit went over to the side door of the car and opened it. Out of the car came Ben, wearing a blue suit and a black tie, as he climbed out, a woman stepped out with him. She was wearing a purple evening dress with a slit down the middle exposing her large cleavage, with purple, high heeled shoes and a pair of long purple opera gloves. Her purple eyeshadow purple lipstick made her appear normal to Peter and his wife, apart from the fact that she had light green skin. As soon as they were out of the car, Ben and the green-skinned woman began walking towards a smiling Peter.
'Ben, welcome, buddy.' Ben shook Peter by the hand.
'Thank you for the invite, Peter,' he said as he smiled and made his way over to Rachel. 'Rachel, you are looking as lovely as ever.'
Rachel gushed, 'You're the same charming man as ever, Ben,' she said as she looked over at Stacey, 'Who is this young woman, Ben?'
'This is Stacey, my girlfriend.' Stacey blushed as Ben smiled at her.
'Stacey, I'd like to introduce you to Peter and Rachel Butler, the mayor and mayoress of New York City and old friends of mine.' Peter took one of Stacey's gloved hands and kissed it.
'It's a pleasure to meet you, Stacey.' he said as he turned toward his wife.
'Ben, why didn't you tell us that you had a girlfriend?' Rachel asked. Stacey could tell he was slightly embarrassed.
'Ben and I have only just got together.' she said in a soft but firm voice.
Peter's and Rachel's faces dropped at hearing this. Ben stood quietly, but after a few moments he broke the silence, 'Can we go in?'
Rachel smiled, 'Of course, Ben, all the guests are here now so there's no point in standing outside any longer.'
Ben took Stacey by hand and followed them through two large, glass doors. As they were following the couple, Stacey couldn't help but think about the way her life had changed since she had met Ben again. as they passed the main doors they came into a large corridor filled with pictures and photos, Stacey looked at one photo that showed Ben shaking hands with Peter. In the photo he looked younger. Realising they had walked on, she hurried to catch them up. Coming to the end of the corridor, they were led into a vast hall. Inside, there was a large table with food and on the floor was a long, red carpet. Stacey and Ben were amazed at the number of people who had been invited. At the far end of the hall was a large stage with two red curtains hanging at either side.
Peter turned to face them. 'Ben, I'm just heading to the bar, do you and Stacey want to go with Rachel to the table?'
Ben nodded in response as he took Stacey's hand again and followed Rachel, before he took step, he was stopped again by Peter.
'What would you both like to drink?' He asked cheerfully.
'I'll have a gin and tonic, please.' Stacey requested.
'Ben, what are you having, buddy?'
'That's very kind of you, Peter, I'll just have a double whiskey, please.'
Peter walked off to the bar on the far side of the hall. Stacey and Ben saw Rachel sitting at a table near the stage and went over to join her. Stacey sat down next to her whilst Ben sat opposite.
'You two look lovely tonight. Ben, tell me, how did you and Stacey meet?'
Ben looked at Stacey and then back at Rachel.
'We met in a medical centre.'
'Not one of those centres that experiment on people?' Rachel asked disapprovingly.
Stacey looked at her puzzled, 'Yes, but how do you know about those places?'
'Because, my dear, I don't know if Ben has told you this, but me and my husband are mutants.'
Stacey covered her mouth as if to be sick.
'Ben,' she said annoyed, 'Why didn't you tell me?'
'I didn't think it would matter.'
Fuming, Stacey walked out as Peter arrived with the drinks. Peter and Rachel looked at Ben and gave him a cold, hard stare.
'I think that you better go after her, Ben.' She said harshly, 'You don't want to leave her alone now, do you?'