It was getting late as Stacey got ready for bed. She had been with Ben all day and he had shown her around the large, impressive house. Ben had pieces of artwork that were worth a small fortune, antique furniture and bookshelves full of classic novels, Ben's main goal was to create a safe haven for all mutants from all over the world, starting with the States. As she was making her way up the stairs to the bathroom Stacey looked at a photo that was hanging on the wall. It was of three young boys, one of them wearing glasses who looked like Ben. She smiled when she looked at it and began thinking that Ben reminded her of what she had been like before the transformation. Quickly making her way up to the top of the stairs, she headed towards the bathroom. Opening the door, she slipped inside, closing it gently behind her, surprised at what she saw. There was a wet room with a walk-in shower in one corner, a small cabinet with a large collection of aftershaves stood against the wall, above it was a mirror, its edges adorned with gold leaf. Stacey moved forward and began to look at herself.
'Hello, sexy,' she said aloud as she started posing, 'Does Ben know that you're in here?' She asked as she slowly started to strip off to her black bra and panties. As she did, she noticed something strange. Her normally dark green eyes were beginning to change to light blue. She turned away thinking she was seeing things. When she looked again, she noticed that they were dark green.
'That's funny,' she muttered to herself as she put her dirty clothes into a washing basket, 'I could have sworn that my eyes had changed colour, maybe I'm tired.'
She came out of the bathroom and switched the light off, making her way towards Ben's master bedroom. Stepping inside, once again, she was surprised at how big the room was. Fur carpets covered the floor and priceless pieces of artwork hung on the walls. In one corner of the room was a king size bed with red silk sheets. At the end of the room was a balcony with a table and chairs. Sitting in one of the chairs with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a lit cigar in the other was Ben, wearing a black, silk dressing gown, his back towards her.
Before she stepped outside, he felt her presence and turned slowly to face her, 'Stacey,' he said jovially, 'So nice of you to accept my offer to stay with me tonight. Please help yourself to a drink and join me, won't you?'
By the table and chair stood a small drinks cabinet, Stacey opened it and noticed there was already a bottle of gin and a tonic water out, along with a glass. Pouring herself one, she went and sat by Ben. Sliding his arm around her, he felt the warmth of her naked, green skin through his thin robe. Stacey looked into his eyes and smiled.
'You know, Ben,' she said softly, When I escaped from the medical centre I didn't know whether I would ever see you again.'
Ben turned to face her and looked deep into her eyes. 'That day,' he sighed, letting out a deep breath, 'Not many people got out of that place alive.'
Stacey looked at him. shocked, 'What do you mean?' She asked tremulously. Ben walked over to the balcony and looked down.
'After you were taken into the lab, one of the lads I was with died,'
Stacey came over to him and placed her hand over his, 'I'm sorry that you had to witness that. Were you close to him?'
'Yes,' he replied letting out another deep breath, 'It was hard in there, so I tried to be supportive to the others.'
Stacey could remember that Ben had always been there for her and some of the others. She looked at him as she stroked his face.
'You shouldn't feel guilty about what happened, Ben. You weren't responsible for your friend's death, Dr Young was.'
Puffing on his cigar, Ben replied,' That's why I'm trying to set this group up just to give mutants a safe haven.' He picked up his glass and quickly downed the whiskey,
'Look, it's getting late.' He said as he slowly made his way towards the bed, 'I'm off to bed now, babe, come join me when you're ready.'
As he made his way past her, he gave her a kiss on her cheek. Stacey took a small sip of gin and put the glass down on the cabinet before following Ben who was now in his boxer shorts. Stacey's eyes nearly popped out when she saw Ben's near naked body, most of it ribbed with muscle. Ben was just lying there with his eyes shut when Stacey threw herself on top of him. Aware of what she was about to do, Ben opened his eyes, gently grabbed her and began kissing her passionately. They fell asleep in each other's arms, Stacey with her head and hand on Ben's naked chest as she began to dream.
She was running through a wood in the dark until she came to a dead end with no way out. Turning around to face whatever she was running away from, she noticed something terrible. Looking at her hands, they were now pale white, and to make matters worse her vision was now blurred. Closing her eyes, she thought that it would all go away. From out of nowhere, she felt a hand tighten around her neck. Snapping her eyes open, she saw that it belonged to a large, green-skinned woman. Although tall and slim, unlike Stacey she had long, black hair and dark green skin. As she tightened her grip around her neck, Stacey began to scream. Finding herself sitting up in bed covered in sweat, Stacey lifted her arms only to find that they were still green.
'Just a dream,' she said to herself as she lay back down and closed her eyes, 'Just a stupid dream.' she told herself as she turned over onto her side and went back to sleep.
It was getting light as Jennifer woke up in the cell she was held in overnight following her arrest. She had been lying down on the small mattress on the floor. As she was getting up, she heard footsteps coming from outside her door. Without warning, the door flew open and in walked a man and a woman. Jennifer eyed them up as they walked into her cell.
'Are you Jennifer Williams?' The woman asked politely.
Jennifer stood up and faced the woman, who looked like a doctor, 'I am, miss.' she said in a low voice.
'My name is Dr Sarah Young, Jennifer, and this is Lt John Watts.' she paused as she slowly came forward, 'We believe that you have some information that could help us track down a very dangerous woman. Would you be willing to cooperate with us?'
Jennifer nodded, knowing who Dr Young was talking about.
'You mean Stacey Roberts. don't you?'
Lt Watts stepped forward, 'Yes, Jennifer, and we would be happy to reward you if you provide us with information that would lead to her capture.'
Jennifer stood between them and kept quiet as she thought about what she would do. As she looked at Dr Young, she remembered something.
'You're the creator of that serum, aren't you, Doctor, the one that was used on Stacey?'
Dr Young pushed passed Lt Watts and started to laugh. 'What a clever young woman you are, Jennifer. Yes, I created the super soldier serum that was used on Stacey.' she paused and looked at the young woman, 'Why? Do you want to become like Stacey is now?'
Jennifer gave her an icy look, 'Is there anything wrong with wanting to be like her?' She said crossly. 'Since that bitch has known me, she has always been the centre of attention, and now I want my share.'
Dr Young and Lt Watts gave each other a knowing look.
Stepping forward, the doctor put her hand on Jennifer's shoulder. 'Stacey stole something important from you, didn't she?'
Jennifer looked at her with tears in her eyes. 'She stole a lot of things from me, Doctor, my life, my work, even some of my boyfriends. I just want to get even with her.'
'And you will, my dear, we just need the information that you have about her. Remember, if you help us and I will do my best to help you.'
Jennifer looked at her and smiled, 'Okay, here's what I know. At the moment, Stacey is with her boyfriend, Ben Fox.'
As she said the name, Watts grew interested, 'Wait. Did you say Fox?'
'Indeed, I did, Lieutenant. why?'
'Fox is on one of our most wanted mutants lists for acts of terrorism and violence against non-mutants. You have just made both mine and Dr Young's jobs easier, kid.'
'So, I can get that reward you promised me?'
Dr Young put her hand out and Jennifer took it, 'If you wish to become like your friend, you will need to be stronger,' she said as she led her out of the cell and down the corridor, 'I can give you a stronger dose of the serum that Stacey received, but we are going to have to test you first.'
'I'll take any chance that you'll give me, Doc. Anything to take that bitch and her boyfriend down.'
Dr Young started laughing, 'Jennifer. once you have taken the serum you can have your revenge on both of them.' She took her into a private room and locked the door behind her.
It was a warm midday as Stacey was lying on a sunbed by the pool at the back of the house, wearing a purple bikini and a pair of sunglasses. Next to the bed was a table with a large glass of gin and tonic.
Stacey reached over and took a sip from the glass, 'Ahh,' she said to herself as she started to relax, 'This is the life.'
As she spoke, Ben appeared, and Stacey lifted her sunglasses and watched him as he passed by.
'Hey, there, handsome,' she said sexily, 'Fancy sitting by me to soak up some sun?'
Ben grinned at her, 'Sure, Stacey, why not?' he said, grabbing a spare sunbed and lying beside her.
As he lay there, Stacey grabbed his hand.
'Ben,' she said softly, 'Thank you for giving me this chance to be with you.'
'You're very welcome, Stacey.'
Leaning towards one another they kissed. Suddenly, Ben stood up. Stacey grasped his hand and looked up at him.
'What's wrong, Ben?' She asked, worried.
Ben gave her a concerned look of his own, 'I'm not sure.' he said as he grabbed a pair of jeans from the sunbed where he had been lying.
He looked afraid, 'I don't know what it is, Stacey, but I can sense that something is off.'
As he was getting up Ben called out to one of his private security guards, the young man came running over to Ben, like the guards who had first searched her and Jennifer, the young man was wearing a black armoured vest with a handgun in a holster at his side. He was also armed with a large AK-47 assault rifle. Stacey could hear Ben shouting orders and was becoming afraid. After the young guard left him, Ben returned to where Stacey was. By the look on his face, Ben was extremely angry.
'Is everything all right?' She asked him as he went past her to his sunbed, 'Ben, what's wrong?' Stacey sat beside him putting her arms around him.
Ben looked at her, and Stacey knew that he was afraid.
'They've found us, Stacey.' He said worriedly.
Stacey gave him a puzzled look, 'They, who are they? Ben, what the hell are you talking about?' As she said this, there was a loud bang followed by a shower of broken glass.
Quickly, Ben grabbed Stacey and used his psychic powers to form a protective shield around them, as he did, the glass harmlessly bounced off. From inside the shield, they heard gunfire followed by shouting. Once the shield had died, Ben grabbed Stacey by the hand and dragged her away.
'Our best chance of escape is up on the roof, where we can get a helicopter and fly out of here.'
Stacey looked at him, 'What about the others, Ben, will they be all right?'
'I ordered my men to get Frostbite, Powerhouse, Flamethrower,, and Mist out before they come back for us.' Ben told her as they were ran inside the house towards the stairs.
'We should be okay once we get to the sta…' His words were cut short. Standing in front of them was a full platoon of armed soldiers, their guns aimed at them. 'Get down, both of you, or we will open fire!' Shouted one of the soldiers at the front.
Leaving Stacey, Ben walked slowly forwards, 'Now, now. There's no need for violence,' he said calmly as he raised his hands.
Just then, one of the soldiers went flying as Ben sent out a wave of psychic energy at him. Seeing this, the other soldiers opened fire. Ben simply caught the bullets in mid-air and let them drop harmlessly to the ground. Realising how powerful he was the others dropped their weapons and started running towards the door, screaming, leaving their squad mate on the ground. Ben and Stacey slowly approached the man.
'Is he dead, Ben? Did you kill him?'
Ben looked at her , puzzled, 'He's not dead, Stacey, just stunned. If I wanted to kill him, I could have choked him with a mere thought.'
'You still haven't changed.' she said as she kissed him on his cheek, 'you're still that sweet, young man I fell in love with years ago.'
Ben started to laugh, as he gently pressed his hand on the young man's head. Closing his eyes, he and started to concentrate. Stacey didn't say anything as she knew that Ben had the ability to read minds. It lasted only a few minutes, and when it was over Ben placed the young man down gently. Stacey walked up to him and placed her hands on his shoulders, 'What did you learn and is that man going to be okay?' Ben got back up, 'The man will be fine. As for us, I don't know what will happen.'
Stacey gave him a puzzled look, 'What do you mean, Ben?'
'He means me,' a voice shouted from the door behind them. Slowly turning her head to to see who it was, Stacey had a nasty surprise. Standing at the main entrance, wearing a white tank top and a pair of jeans and black boots was Jennifer. There was something different about her. Jennifer was well over six foot tall, with long, loose, jet black hair and her skin was now dark green. Stacey could tell by the look on her face that she was angry.
'Hello, Stacey,' she said as she slowly walked towards them, 'Do you like my new look?' She asked angrily, 'I hope that you do, because I will be the last person you and your boyfri
end see.'
Stacey and Ben stood frozen to the spot as there was nowhere to run or hide.