Re-Evolution: Episode 1: The Shadow Over New Salem

Greg was sitting listlessly in the living room with his phone in his hand, the digits '9-1' on the screen. he kept going to push the last button and hesitating. A thousand worsening scenarios had played in his mind as he waited for his sister to return.

"God damn it, Morgan, where *are* you?" he growled. "If you're hurt...."

He jolted up at the sound of a car in the driveway, and bolted out of the house.

An old military jeep had pulled into his driveway, parking with a slight lurch. Behind the wheel was a young woman in an eyepatch and leather jacket, who leaned over to say something to the other party in the car--Morgan , who was grinning from ear to ear as she whispered something back. Wide enough to show her fangs, and her hair, even as she quickly tried to brush it, had parted around her ears.

As the door slammed open, she looked up with a sharp gasp, and hopped out of the car. "H-hey Greg."

Greg's feeling of worry quickly started to shift into one of anger, and his expression matched it.. 

"Well I'm glad to see you're not dead!" he rasped. "Where the hell have you been? Who's she?" 

The girl with the eyepatch leaned on the door, looking at him with a cool expression, her grey eye half lidded. "I'm a friend of hers."

"My phone died while I was out, Greg. Sorry to worry you." Morgan grimaced and she crossed her arms. "I just went out with some new friends...this is Callisto."

"Callisto, right," he grunted, glaring at the eyepatch girl for only a moment before he returned his attention to his sister. "You know the last text you sent me said you'd be right home? Where the hell have you been?"

"I said i'd *meet* you at home. Not that I'd *be* right home! And I didn't expect to be invited out, that's all! Stop getting so upset! you *wanted* me to make friends, didn't you??"

Callisto glanced at him with a slight frown "Hey, look. Lay off the girl, man."

Greg turned Callisto, and pointed at her. 

"How about you stay out of what isn't your business?" he snapped.

Morgan stomped her foot. 

"Don't you fucking snap at her, Greg! and stop *yelling*!! We were just hanging out, we got fucking *Milkshakes* for fuck's sake."

Callisto leaned on the jeep door "Became my business the moment she became friends with the guys and I."

"*The guys* huh? and what guys would those be?" Greg grimaced, and snarled, glaring at both of them. Leave it to Morgan to get in with the punks and then do something irresponbsible like this. He doubted that her phone had actually died.

Morgan's eyes hardened 

"Greg," she warned, "don't do this."

Callisto met his eyes with an impassive expression "What's it matter to you? They're her friends, not yours."

"It matters because I'm her brother!" he snapped. He felt like he was taking crazy pills; did no one get why he was upset? "Morgan's already getting shit at school, I don't want her to get any more, got it?"

"Greg, stop it! She's my friend, okay? The whole lot of them have treated me just fine! Let me *have this*."

Callisto leaned halfway over the door of the jeep. "Listen. Greg. I know you're a little overprotective, but I am going to ask you nicely to drop the tone with me."

"Overprotective, right," he rasped, glaring up at Morgan. Just one day. He’d just wanted to go one day without everything at school getting fucked up. And she was already going who knows where, and badmouthing him to everyone for giving a shit. "Just what the hell have you been saying about me?"

"Just that every time I make friends, you pull shit like this Greg," Morgan muttered.

Callisto leaned on her arm with the barest trace of a grin, and it wasn’t a friendly one, to Greg’s eye. "Don't you have clothes you need to lay out? Do you really have time to waste out here yelling at me?"

"That;s it! this is over,” Greg snarled. “Get in the house, Morgan we're gonna have a fucking talk!"

Callisto leaned back in the seat of the jeep, and gave Morgan a glance.

 "Hey, just know that if things get rough you can come stay with me for a bit." she offered "I don't have much, just a tent, but it's open if things get bad here."

Morgan smiled at her thankfully, before glancing at Greg. "....Thanks Callisto. But I should probably let my brother get this out of his system."

"Understood." She gave Morgan a little salute. "Don't put up with his shit if you don't have to."

Greg looked back and forth between Morgan and Callisto as the conversation went on without him. His brain ground to a halt at the sheer audacity. "Hold the fuck on, you live in a *Tent*?"

"....yeah. Why?" Callisto glanced over at him.

Morgan bit her lip, leaning on the jeep as she glanced at Callisto. It was obvious that she wanted to be anywhere other than here. Probably she’d rather be sleeping in this girl’s tent. Greg felt himself getting more and more worked up as she stayed silent. He tried to force it down.

Greg seethed there for a moment, as the anger bubbled up inside him, until he finally threw his hands up. 

"Whatever!! Come on, Morgan." He snatched at her wrist roughly to try to drag her inside.

Morgan stumbled, dragged a foot before she tried to yank her hand away with a grimace as he squeezed her wrist. 

"Ow! Greg, *stop that*"

Greg was taken completely off guard when the quiet girl in the jeep remained still only a moment before she leaped over the door, and landed deftly on her feet. Not missing a beat, she ran forward and grabbed Greg roughly by the shoulder.

"You're hurting her." Her single eye narrowed on him.

Greg jolted as he was grabbed and let go of Morgan, turning on Callisto and snarling.

 "You do NOT wanna touch me right now!" A fine shimmer of dark mist was rising from his body, thick enough that even he could see it. He grabbed for her collar. "So get your hands off and get back in your car."

Callisto met his eyes with a casual frown, seemingly unperturbed.

"No. I think you should treat your sister with a little more respect." She glanced at the mist, as a pale blue light began to shine in her eyes. "I would let go of me if I were you."

Morgan stumbled a bit away from the two, glancing nervously at the conflict.

Greg sucked in a breath and let go of Callisto suddenly, shoving her hard against the car; but she stepped gracefully back into the jeep, rolling enough with the movement that she only suffered a glancing blow.

The blue glow in her eye intensified as she suddenly grabbed Greg's arm and with strength that was surprising even for her muscular form she yanked him up at the same time she opened the jeep's door and kicked it, sending the heavy metal panel slamming into his sternum as she yanked him towards it. Greg's strength and aestheticism saved him from serious injury, but not from pain, and he hissed in a breath as the shock went through him.

"I warned you," she said quietly, in a monotone. "You aren't the only mutant in town."

"Starting to wish I was!"

With a growl he  leapt back at her, throwing a punch as his fist was engulfed in darkness. 

Callisto watched the punch come, dodging at the last minute. His shadowy fist passed her face, rustling the hair hanging over her eyepatch as she grabbed his arm, and yanked him forward to drive her elbow into his gut. She was *fast*...and *very strong*. Greg was suddenly aware that he was even more outmatched than he had been at the club earlier that day.

He choked as the elbow met his powerful abs, and he reeled, trying to grab and grapple her with his shadow-smoking hands.The girl's eye was blazing that strange pale blue as she danced away from his fists. 

"You really should quit." she murmured.

"Greg!" Morgan yelled from the sidelines. "*Stop* trying to hurt my *FRIEND*"

Of course Morgan was on her side. Why had there been any doubt? 

Greg growled and made one last attempt to kick Callisto's legs out from under her but Callisto ducked down, grabbing his foot and lifting it to send him sprawling onto his back. She leapt, catlike on top of him and pinned him to the ground, her free hand pulling a short dagger from under her jacket.

She pointed it at his chest, her single eye hard. 

".....stop. This fight is pointless. You've lost. Just don't go hurting your sister again. That's not how a sibling is supposed to act."

Greg's pale eyes were blazing darkly, as he seethed his chest rising and falling with every hissed breath. He let himself go limp, and looked away, scowling. Beaten.

Morgan hissed softly through her teeth, running her hand through her hair "....fuck. This is a mess," she murmured.

Callisto stood, sheathing her knife under her jacket and offering him a hand up "Good."

Greg looked at her hand, and didn't take it, rolling to his feet on his own. He glared at her one last time, and then sulkily stomped toward the house.

000

Morgan felt a heaviness in her chest as she watched her brother stalk away into the house after the fight. Callisto also watched him go for a moment before she shook her head, and gave Morgan a wave goodbye. 

"Sorry about that, Morgan." She gave her a ghost of a smile "...I'll see you at school."

Morgan smiled awkwardly and painedly back, nodding at her.

 "See you then, Callisto..." She gave her a salute, before running after Greg inside, not sure what kind of a state he’d be in.

Greg was standing with his back to her, gazing dully and distantly at the stairs to the second floor. She could see the darkness shimmering and coming off him in waves.

Morgan nervously stepped forward, the shadows in the hall twitching in response to her unspoken anxiety as one reached up to close the door behind her.

She came near, and hesitantly patted her brother's shoulder.

 "Hey, Greg?"

He flinched as she touched him, and didn't look at her.

".... are you trying to punish me, Morgan?"

Morgan tensed, the shadows all twisting to pool at her feet as her fingers tensed on his shoulder.

 "What are you talking about, Greg? you attacked her first...you're the one who pushed her.."

"That's not what I mean." He had his head down, chin almost in his chest.

"then what do you mean, Greg?" Morgan asked, perhaps a little colder than she meant to. Her hand dropped off his shoulder. "I didn't make waves for you at school, I behaved *just fine*. "The only one who started trouble was you, and that was with my friend when she was just giving me a ride home."

"A ride home you apparently spent badmouthing me the whole time," he snapped. "Forget it. I'm going to bed."

Morgan crossed her arms.

"Tch! All I did was tell the truth, Greg. About how ever since our mutations you've been trying to treat me like someone I'm not. Throw me in a preppy dress, only let me talk to people you approve of-- it's *stifling* Greg!" She turned away from him, and stared at the wall. "If you want to go mope in your room all night, fine. Be like that. But it won't change anything."

"No, it won't. But I guess I can't change your mind about anything anyway." His voice was dull, and beaten. He paused, and then told her, "We have an invitation for tomorrow night."

Morgan's lip quirked in irritation, but the shadows finally unraveled and slithered back into their familiar shapes 

"....is that so." She looked away and said, "Maybe I already have plans."

You'll want to meet-- you know what? maybe I'm wrong. You probably don't even care."

Morgan turned to look at him again briefly, before turning and, glaring towards the door. 

"You're right, Greg. I don't care." she sneered with a sharp barb of sarcasm. "Because obviously the only thing I care about is making your life hard, right? To punish you and ruin your chances to be like the--the 'normal humans'."

She heard his voice more clearly as he finally turned to look at her, despite her own averted gaze.. "You think that's what I want, Morgan? I care about fitting in because you showed me what happens when people think you're different."

Morgan's frown deepened. "That's right, Greg. I *know* what happens when people think you're different. And you know what? All the pink miniskirts and 'right friends' in the world won't change how people treat me."

"Are you sure about that, Morgan? Nobody thinks Clark Kent's Superman, you know," he said. He shook his head. "Look, take it or leave it, but I met some people at school who said there's somebody who can help us. A place where we can just be ourselves."

Morgan finally turned to meet his eyes. 

"..." She looked downcast and said, "I was going to tell you the same thing."

"...What, seriously?” She heard the confusion in his voice. “Oh... cool, I guess..."

"yeah, Piotr...he told some girls who tried bullying me about...being trans...to leave me alone. And I guess he noticed the shadows, because he took me aside and told me I wasn't alone at school. Invited me to see some Institute." She crossed her arms "...I was excited to tell you, but then you went and punched Callisto."

Greg grimaced, and looked away. 

"Look, I'm sorry about that... I let my temper get away with me again."

Morgan frowned. 

"You did. ...Greg. You *always* let your temper get away from you. Callisto's not a bad person...none of my new friends are...and the best part is..." She smiled thinly. "They're all mutants, Like us. All of them."

"Are they from the institute?" Greg asked, some of the color draining from his face. "Shit, and I made a complete ass of myself.... again."

"Oh, no. I don't think so anyway." Morgan rubbed the back of her neck. "Or rather, I think Dorian *was* but he's been avoiding it lately because of a bad breakup. Callisto, Lance and Todd aren't part of it, I don't think.."

Greg closed his eyes. 

"Lance and Todd? Great. Great." He hissed a breath and then took a deep one. "The little creep didn't put his hands on you, did he?"

"Todd's a perfect gentleman." Morgan flipped her hair over her shoulder, flushing a little at the suggestion. "Don't go trying to insult him when you haven't even met him. We spent all afternoon together and he's *fun*. He caught me when I fell, you know. Saved me from getting hurt with his *superhuman leap*"

"Great." Greg pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wait... what were you doing that made you fall?"

Morgan shrugged her shoulders. "You know. this and that.'

"God damn it, Morgan. Sounds like I was right worrying you were hurt!"

She took a step back, defensively, worrying the fight was going to start all over again.

 "I just fell off a fence," she muttered "I was trying to get a good look at something."

Greg flinched when he saw her step back away from him.

"Alright fine! I don’t want to have another argument, geez," he grumped. "I just worry about you! you're my sister. And you're kind of all I've got."

"And you're my brother." Morgan asserted. "...We have each other, Greg...but it's not like I tried to get hurt...and Todd caught me before I even got a bruise."

"Well, at least he's good for *something* I guess." Greg snorted with displeasure. "Look... that girl who drove you home, what was her name? Callista?"

"Callisto." Morgan corrected, crossing her arms.

"Callisto," he nodded. "Do you have her number?"

Morgan raised her eyebrow. "...Yes? Why? I got everyone's numbers."

He made a face and looked away.

"Could you text her and tell her I apologize for starting shit with her?"

Morgan nodded, and pulled out her phone with a half smile. Thank goodness he was being at least a LITTLE reasonable.

 "...thanks, Greg." She typed a little message before hitting send. "Maybe you could tell her at school, too."

"Yeah, I'll try...." He sighed heavily and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Good." Morgan said , leaning on the wall. "Feeling a little less ...you know...sulky now?"

"I mean, I still feel like shit," he admitted, "But I guess..."

She walked past him to the stairs, punching his shoulder as she passed. 

"Come on, let's just call it a day, alright?"

He smiled slightly and punched her back. 

"Yeah. Heh. Another big day tomorrow."

"That's right. And you'd better make a friend or two." She stuck out her tongue. "You have to keep up with me, after all."

"Oh trust me, I know."