2014.04.18 - That is What We are

The Five-in-One's lives have not been easy in the last few months since they had turned eighteen. U-Man attack, distrust from those at the Xavier's Institute, discovery of their own cloned nature (a secret they had kept from all but two other people,) and this nagging thought in their mind. The word Fourteen.

I came to them for the first time when they first were mimicked by Hope Summers, then again when Gabriel (Mindee) did the same. Then again during the U-Man attack. And other times since, it had been this back of the mind thought that seemed to come out more and more as they either joined with more minds, or tried to assert the individual natures of themselves.

They are supposed to be in class right now, in fact they have skipped class every day for the last week, since they shared their cloned nature with Leo Luthor. The teachers don't know, they made sure of that. Just like they had made sure that no one in the lobby would even recognize they were there.

To them school had become a bother, not worth proceeding with because they were starting to doubt that they would ever have a chance to put their education to use. So they walked through the lobby, everyone oblivious to the fact that they were even there as they communed internally trying to sort this all out. A task that was very hard for them to do it seemed.

Meanwhile Fantomex has been around for a couple hours. The plan was just going to check out the quintet was doing fine, but Emma has some valuable artwork around, and the white-clad thief is now considering which piece he could 'borrow' for a while. Itchy fingers and all that. Maybe he just needs getting stabbed by ninjas again, because that never gets old.

And look who is coming down from the lobby. Shouldn't they be in class? Fantomex is wrapped heavily in illusions of the 'nobody here' here, because Emma security is fairly good. But he shrugs them off as he slides closer to the blondes. "Bonjour," he greets, stepping out from inexistent shadows, "fancy meeting you here, are you skipping classes, perhaps? I think you are. I am shocked." He doesn't seem shocked. Maybe amused, but he always seems faintly amused.

Esme smirks when Fantomex reveals himself, her cadence and dialect now sounded more like Emma Frost's Estuary accent than the neutral American accent they used to have, "Great it's him again, as if we actually need this."

Sophie responded next, her accent had changed as well, it seems something has happened since their last encounter, "Telepathically, he can't read our mind. We don't need to show our hand to him, since he has no interest in showing his to ours." Obviously a reference to the telepathic inhibiting mask.

There is a pause as all five of the girls inhale at once and then their eyes begin to glow white as they speak in a beautifully melodious tone of perfect unison, "We are the Five-in-One, as you well know, if we care to skip classes that is our business."

Fantomex could probably feel the girls trying to find a way past that little bother of a mask.

"Mon dieu! You are behaving like normal teenagers," notes Fantomex. "Not only skipping classes, but giving no excuses whatsoever." Glowing eyes means they are trying to get into his head, they are not being subtle today, and he doesn't need his mastery at reading body language. "Stop that, ladies, I won't try to hack your email, so you don't try to hack my mask. Isn't the lovely Ms. Frost teaching you some telepathic etiquette? I bet she is."

The girls all smirk a little and said, "Yes she has. If the mind is too weak to resist, than the consequences are their fault."

Though their eyes stop glowing for now and they say in unison, "Also not to read the minds too deeply unless you have reason to mistrust. And to avoid doing it without provocation."

Sophie then speaks up, "Any other day, Fantomex, and we would tear apart that mask of yours until we could make you our little pet. But today we're not in the mood."

Suddenly there is a slight change in their demeanor. Their individuality seems to vanish from their body language, their stances, when they speak as one this time they seem to do it from a place of no emotion or individuality, "But we suspect you know things about us that others do not. You seem familiar to us. You knew our birthdate. You know something we don't."

There is a stern, but emotionless look on their faces as they tell Fantomex, "So here is what we purpose, you be open and honest with us and we will not need to do so. We get bored easily these days, so please don't waste our time."

There is a pregnant pause in the air before they ask the question, "What is Fourteen, and what does it have to do with us."

Nothing in Fantomex body language hints he is worried at being the target of the five sisters' wrath, he seems perfectly relaxed. But there is a perhaps uncharacteristic lack of mocking retort or comeback. For maybe a full second. "Being bored is a terrible thing," he comments, "being bored around me, inconceivable. Let me entertain you, thusly."

Again he bows, inviting the quintet to walk with him outside. "But first allow me to remind you that your lack of memory might be due to a decision you took yourselves not so long ago, and no doubt for good reasons. The truth, mes cheris, will hurt, and will not set you free."

The power of the Five-in-One suddenly manifested outwardly around them as anyone in the lobby or even approaching it stopped dead in their tracks, telepathically held their by the might.

"We know we are the clones of Emma Frost, Mr. Noh-Var confirmed that. We were already suspicious when three of us exhibited the ability to transform into diamond-like bodies when we were attacked by the U-Man," the girls said in unision, "We learned of this Fourteen, when we first linked with our additional sisters. They are not like us, they can only mimic us, but they can be added to our collective. As this happened the word Fourteen would pop into our thoughts."

There is a pause, though the girls don't seem afraid or nervous or upset they add, "We are afraid of this Fourteen, we fear that we are meant to betray the ones we care for. That we already are doing so."

The girls take two steps forward towards Fantomex and their eyes are starting to glow again, "Tell us, we are already not free. We are already in pain. We are the Five-In-One, we can handle it."

"Clones of Emma Frost, you say?" Fantomex hmms thoughtfully. "With some improvements, I am sure," he seems really reluctant to talk. "It is not who we were but who we are, anyway."

He gets out of the building, regardless. Not because he is afraid of people or machines eavesdropping, he can trick those easily. It is just being outside means something for a man raised inside a metal dome. "Fourteen is a number that comes after thirteen. For instance, if you are the thirteenth kid in a big family thing, and then you have five identical sisters, some math-challenged parents may call them the fourteen. Only you could need to replace 'big family' by 'living weapon project' and 'parents' by 'crazy geneticists with no morals'. But only if you want to be picky. I know I am not."

The Five-in-One pause for a second, unsure of what to say. They have no emotional resonance right now, there is no way for them to process it as anything else but factual information.

"We are a genetically designed weapon, dropped on a boat in Staten Island and finding our way to the most powerful telepath in range of walking distance," the Cuckoos says in unison, "We find the Academy of Tomorrow and set up shop as the prize students of the Headmistress, a telepathic mutant. And apparently our genetic donor."

"We are Cuckoos then, your weapon project dropped us in the nest of others to be cared for until we matured, " The girls add, "Ingenious, and it would be terrifying if we felt terror at the moment."

"That is not ingenious, if that is the plan, it was a dumb idea," mentions Fantomex. "Dropping you in the area with the highest concentration of Super-humans in the world, dozens of which could figure out who you are with minor effort. Then again, crazy geneticist do not make for genius strategists, do they?"

Fantomex steps forward and pokes Sophie in the nose. Testing the whole no emotional response deal. "So maybe you escaped like I did. Like Weapon Ten did, long ago. More importantly, you don't have to be what they want you to be. Be clever like me, become... French master thieves!"

Sophie doesn't seem to react at all, they know he's not going to hurt them, he's no threat. Thus no need to react to his poking, "Ingenious because we have been here a year and only because of our encountering of two unlike variables: beings with flexible genomes that allow them perfectly mimic the unique design and chemistry of our brains seemed to give us more powers and unravel the plot for ourselves."

A gentle head turn by all of the girls as if they were thinking of something, "If we had not met Hope Summers or Mindee we would not have increased our psionic gestalt to the level of omnipathic clarity. We would have waited in this school, the perfect sleeper agents... until activated."

"Ahh!" all the girls say at once, "We've already been activated, several times as test runs. Esme must be our direct link to this project. She has on two occasions directly endangered the school. Once by convincing the school that it was haunted. A test run of our own abilities and of the projects control. A second time on our birthday when we let the U-Men find the school."

The look back to Fantomex and say, "This information is useful, and we believe it will help us overcome such subjugation in the future. Do you have any data on how you and Weapon X escaped? It may be helpful in determining if we escaped ourselves or were planted."

The Cuckoos had turned their heart to diamond, and right now they saw no reason to turn it back, their hearts were full of pain. And they were not going to process it.

"Weapon Ten cut a swat of destruction a mile wide over scientists, technicians and guards, they still talk about it. But that was when Weapon Plus had their main lab in Northern Canada," replies Fantomex. "I sneaked out with flair and style, and left them all looking like fools. It was London, from the World, an installation out of time, and that is why I didn't like you getting back to London."

Fantomex pats Sophies shoulder. Almost brother-like. "Hey, not all is bad. Do you know who Weapon One was? They call him Captain America now. If he did alright, we can do it better."

"That makes sense. Captain America was in a time before mutants and metahumans were well known commodities on this world," the girls said at once, seeming not to care either way on the subject of Fantomex's brotherly pat, "To make their own super-human would seem the first step. Experimentation on mutants and metahumans more than likely began during the Cold War, as they became more common among humanity."

They look at Fantomex as if sizing him up and say, "You would be an example of the perfect super-spy then, correct? Physically capable, telepathically invisible, possibly some sort of transportation unlike normal humans, ability to misdirect with a thought."

A pause and they added, "We would be the psychic perfection, multiple minds joined together to create a stronger telepathic being. We are not meant for espionage or fighting, the diamond form seems to be more of a genetic quirk, they likely didn't know Ms. Frost possessed it then."

An almost curious look at Fantomex, but it couldn't be curiosity as they no longer possessed that, "What is the World and where in London is it?"

"I... was supposed to be an assassin," replies Fantomex. "The product of half a million years of directed, narrow evolution. 20,000 generations of mutants living and dying outside time." And all they got for it was him, his vanishing trick and now a French thief. The scope of the joke amuses him to no end. "I am not telling you were it is because I am not going to help you get there. At least not until I can find (and trick) enough veteran killers to go there with me first and do some... serious reforms."

The girls eyes are glowing again but it doesn't seem to be directed at Fantomex, at least he cannot feel them pushing on him again. What they were doing was scanning for any sort of exotic transport, maybe one that thinks. That would fit what they were thinking about what Weapon XIII was. That's the advantage of five psychic minds thinking in binary, they process information so wickedly fast.

There is a silence for a moment as the Cuckoos consider their options, going through thousands of possible questions and ideas. They were a super-computer meant to plan strategy and detect threat, they knew what they wanted to know, adjusted for what Fantomex was willing to tell, and added a potential payment.

X=F+P

"If you answer this question, we will let you go back to your other business in the Academy and assure whatever you steal, Ms. Frost or anyone at the Academy will not notice it is gone until three weeks from now." The Cuckoos said in a very flat, no nonsense tone, "Who is Weapon X? Four weeks if you tell us where they are currently located."

Fantomex laughs, stepping back. "Non, no deal. So much to steal in New York from a person that doesn't deserve what they have... I just feel tempted, sometimes." All the time, in fact. No one escapes Weapon Plus with at least a few manias. Fantomex got it lightly. "Weapon X goes by as Wolverine too, he is a Canadian super-hero that now might be living in the New York area. Approach with care if you want to talk with him. He is an... older model, but extremely competent."

The Five-In-One nod at Fantomex, "Understood. We owe you a target at some future point though for the information. We will pay our debts to you."

THere was a pause and the Cuckoos turned away from Fantomex, all of them looked over their shoulder and said, "Big Brother."