Dolls, like us...
Fabian Cortez was not, by anyone’s definition, a happy man. He didn’t like being double crossed, and he definitely didn’t like people stealing what was his. Coincidentally, or maybe not-so-coincidentally, both had happened on various occasions throughout his adult life.
Fabian was something of a renaissance man; mad scientist, “business” man, drug lord, and leader of the local Mexican crime family. He had moved the “family” from Mexico to LA when he realized that he had used up what little mutants were in his own homeland; including his own sister. Some survived and became the first users of his shining new product; users who needed their fix so badly they would do anything, no matter how terrible, to get it. Ever since the big move he had dealt his product all throughout California and into the surrounding states.
Tragedy struck when a trusted lieutenant stabbed Fabian in the back. He lost everything: his money, his men, and even most of his clients once they went through the agonizing and sometimes fatal withdrawals. Eventually, making the product was simply too expensive.
Out of nowhere, opportunity came knocking. If, of course by “opportunity” you mean a tall, lanky, certifiably crazy mutant who answered to the name of Peter Merkel. The future Ragdoll offered Fabian money and mutants if he would make his product again; but this time under a strict contract, binding Fabian exclusively to Merkel’s mysterious projects. The partnership started comfortably, Fabian providing the drugs and Ragdoll providing the money. Fabian spent this money on the luxuries that had been denied him since his business had gone under; namely thugs and energy rifles.
Sadly, this period of villainous monotony in Fabian’s life was short lived, as the Ragdoll, too, eventually turned on him; after he had all the product needed, he stole his money back and kicked Fabian to the metaphorical curb.
Naturally a bit peeved by the inconvenience, Fabian and his new thugs hatched a revenge plot, the lynchpin of this being the kidnapping of a girl in Ragdoll’s ranks rumored to be collecting the dirt on the lanky cult leader. They intended to blackmail the Dolls with their new information, but underestimated her importance and how violently the Dolls would react to her capture. A legion of mutants came ofter them, retrieving Karen, but Fabian was able to retain his newly-gained knowledge.
“Hernando, is the last of those failures that let the mutant girls get away ‘taken care of’ yet?” Fabian asked a lackey as he stared into his fireplace.
“Yes sir, but...”
“But?” Fabian snapped, cutting the man off, “But what?”
“Were running low on thugs now.”
“Damn... ah well, don’t cry over spilt milk...” he shrugged.
“I do have some good news,” Hernando mumbled hesitantly.
“Yes?”
“We have learned that Peter Merkel does not intend on using the product on his followers until after midnight, tonight,” he said proudly.
“Good, that is good,” Fabian murmured, rubbing his hands together.
“Sir...” Hernando started.
“Yes, I know it’s a stereotypical villain gesture but it just comes naturally.”
---
“Douglas Ramsey,” the proud Ragdoll announced as he put up a small doll with Doug’s name on it up on one of several rows of shelves alongside thousands of other dolls, with the names of all the other members, “Welcome officially to the Dolls.”
“Thank you, Ragdoll,” Doug said, bowing. The room erupted into applause as the other Dolls welcomed him. Constance D'Aramis, ever beautiful and seemingly ever by Doug’s side, threw an arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. Ragdoll looked proudly on the celebration as Mattie Hagen slunk up to his side.
“What’s their status?” he whispered to the malicious dark-haired girl.
“Still unconscious, Babel-fish over there sure can pack a wallop I guess,” she said with a grin.
“He will make a very good addition. His powers may not have many combat purposes but they certainly are helpful in other ways,” Ragdoll said sinisterly.
Meanwhile Doug began to get a strange feeling, like a humming in the back of his mind. He brushed it from his thoughts and continued the celebration.
“Welcome to the family, Doug!” a friendly young man named Danny Blaine said as he shook his hand.
“Thank you, thank you all,” Doug said warmly.
“Tomorrow is the big day. Can we trust Ramsey to be just walking around free? What if Constance’s mojo wears off?” Mattie said nervously, still engaged in her whispered conversation.
“Constance’s powers of persuasion have not failed us before and, considering her role in our plans, we should pray very hard that it does not fail us in the future,” Ragdoll whispered back.
“Speaking of that, I put the mutants we tested the process on in the hidden wing, so their new ‘outlook’ doesn’t alarm the rest until they are all ready to join in.”
“Good thinking my dear,” Ragdoll cooed lovingly as he ran his hand through Mattie‘s long hair. “Now my darling, go and check on our new recruit’s little friends,” Ragdoll requested as he kissed Mattie’s hand.
She smiled, bowing obediently, before she casually exited the ceremony. She grinned wickedly to herself as she entered the hidden wing. As she neared, the doors whooshed open, revealing the unconscious and restrained forms of Kitty Pryde and Illyana Rasputina.
Mattie checked their power dampening collars to make sure they were still active. She than retrieved a needle from a nearby counter and proceeded to inject the two girls with the contents of the syringe.
“Sleepy time,” She whispered with a vicious grin.
---
Danny Blaine ended up being Doug’s new suite mate in the Doll dormitories. Like most, he was a mutant runaway, but unlike most, he was very nice. His powers, which had taken a few minutes to explain, were that of localized gravity control, as well as flight. Doug found himself constantly hounded to tell his new roomie stories of how he found out about his mutant powers and how people reacted.
“My parents were very accepting,” Doug shrugged, much to Danny’s shock.
“Lucky! My parents sent me to my priest; I don’t know what they thought hours of his lectures would do for me,” Danny said, rolling his eyes.
Doug chuckled. “No, no none of that for me. My parents were just glad I wasn’t born with green skin and red horns.”
“So you can understand any language, I mean any language at all?” Danny asked, intrigued.
“Yep. Alien ones, dead ones, all of ‘em. I even understand what Ozzy Osbourne says,” he said with a laugh. Suddenly there was a knock on the door, which the ever over-eager Danny raced to answer. He opened the door, revealing the sultry Constance.
“Hello Daniel, may I speak with Douglas privately?” she asked kindly, but with a stern undertone.
“Sure, of course,” Danny nodded as he walked past Constance and went out into the hall as she entered. She sat next to Doug on his bed and held his hand.
“How are you today, Doug?” she asked sweetly.
“Oh, fine. A little worried about Kitty and Illyana,” he said solemnly.
“Why?” She questioned cautiously.
“I’m not sure... I have this nagging feeling that... oh God...” he stuttered, the tone of his voice suddenly changing.
“Doug...” she started, but her voice trailed off.
“What have I done? What have you made me do?” Doug demanded, collapsing to his knees on the floor. Doug fell over in a cold sweat, spread-eagled on the floorboards. Constance knelt down and took Doug in her arms.
“Listen to me, look at me,” Constance said strongly, her eyes beginning to glow red again. “Don't fight the new emotions Doug, don’t fight the new thoughts. Let the new burn away the old and be cleansed for it,” she insisted, as she moved his head so that he was looking in her eyes.
“What’s happening to me?” Doug whimpered, his voice sounding constricted and forced.
“Jus breathe and repeat after me,” she said soothingly as she took an exaggerated breath and waited for him to follow suit. “We are the Dolls.”
“We are the Dolls,” Doug repeated painfully.
“We will make them believe,” she said devotedly.
“We will make them believe,” he repeated.
“We will then make them one,” she continued, embracing him more firmly.
“We will then make them one,” he echoed, his voice calming.
“We will then make them strong,” she said, helping him off the floor and back on to the bed.
“We will then make them strong,” he repeated gently.
“We will then lead them to power,” she said as she sat next to him once more on the bed, her glowing red eyes fading.
“We will then lead them to power,” he said back, his voice normal again.
He turned his now focused gaze on her. “What were we talking about again?” he asked, a smile on his face.
“We were just discussing what time you should stop by my room to pick me up, to escort me to the gathering,” she said giddily as she linked arms with him.
---
Henry McCoy was not used to being treated with kindness. He had been born with the obvious mutation of oversized feet and hands, topped off with a fine dark gray fur covering his entire body. Some of the upsides of this were that he was superhumanly agile and swift as well as incredibly strong. The persecution he had suffered his whole life due to his unnatural appearance had hardened him into a cruel, aggressive man.
The first person to show him true kindness was Ragdoll, and in return Henry devoted himself to the man’s cause. He was ready and willing to do anything the man asked, but he resented being given the job of injecting their hostages with sedatives instead of other, more exciting chores.
He raised the needle and was about to administer the shot when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. Blood splattered from his lips as he turned right into a swinging fist.
“Damn!” Illyana shouted as she rubbed her fist after the hit. She scowled at the downed mutant boy.
“How did you--?!” Illyana’s foot was on his throat before the beastly young man could finish his question.
“Escape? It’s called ‘magic’ for a reason sweetheart,” she said fiercely, but was unable to elaborate as Henry grabbed her foot and brought her to the ground as well. He jumped to his feet and flipped backwards, taking a fighting stance.
Illyana wished desperately that she could feel comfortable using the magic on the collar. A simple spell could unbind a few leather restraints without difficulty, as she’d already demonstrated; but what effect it would have on a device designed to resist removal was not an experiment she felt compelled to try too hastily.
“The Ragdoll’s inhibitor collars are failsafe! How did you use your power to escape?” Henry demanded, his shock fading into anger.
“They nullify mutant powers; I have other skills,” she explained, manifesting her soul-sword.
“Showy,” Henry said sarcastically as he jumped at Illyana. She was prepared to strike him down, but he grabbed her sword mid-jump and pushed off it to propel himself behind her. Before she could react, he hit the wall, and bouncing off it for leverage while maintaining momentum he kicked Illyana’s back with both feet, sending her flying. She lay face-first on the lab room floor, sword knocked from her hands.
“Now stay down, cow!” Henry snapped.
“Cow?” Illyana repeated in a hiss, seething. She stood up and turned to the boy, putting up her fists. “Well don't hold back beasty, tell me how yah really feel!”
The boy growled and lunged at Illyana. With a gesture her sword re-materialized in her hands and she ran Henry through.
“But...” the young man started to say, but Illyana’s answer was to shove forward on her sword, pressing the still pinned man into the wall as she shoved her face into his.
“Shut up. I don’t want to hear any pleas for mercy nor threats of my immanent demise at your fuzzy hands of doom. The only thing I want to hear you say is how to get these damned collars off.”
“I don’t-” before he could finish she shoved the blade again causing him to writhe in pain.
“I have missed all your favorite organs, you will be fine if I let you get medical attention. Right now, thought, that ‘If’ is very big and getting bigger. Now do me a favor and spill more than your blood,” she said menacingly.
“There’s a removable panel in the back, underneath there is a button. You have to use Morse code and spell out ‘freedom,’” he said in forced breaths.
“Well done,” she said, smirking, as she dematerialized her sword and turned around quickly, grabbing a still unconscious Kitty into her arms and bursting through the door before Henry could call for aid. Illyana’s cool-headedness and menacing attitude vanished in moments, and she wildly looked for a place to hide while she got the collars off. Spotting a storage room, she inside and slammed the door shut. She kneeled and laid Kitty down on the floor, removing the mentioned panel from her collar.
“Now if only I knew Morse code,” Illyana mumbled. She snapped her fingers, a gentle dusting light falling playfully around her fingers. Harnessing the magic, she gently smacked Kitty on the forehead. Kitty jerked into consciousness as the spell took effect.
“Where are we?” she asked, bewildered. Illyana ignored the question and grabbed her friend’s shoulders.
“You know Morse code… right?”
---
Harry Delgado watched and waited. Having been sent by Fabian Cortez with a small contingent of loyal mercenaries to wipe out the Dolls as they celebrated, he and his crew were currently perched on a high balcony off to the side of the ballroom, within which most of the Dolls were currently gathered.
Harry zeroed in on the two mutants talking on the raised dais. They weren’t addressing the rest, not that they could have managed it over the great amount of diverse sounds in the room. They were simply sitting and talking quietly to one another. They each wore nametags, one reading ‘Constance’ and the other ‘Doug.’ Harry motioned for the others to move closer as his fingers moved to the trigger, his eyes focused on the blonde young man.
Suddenly he saw a flash of light and heard a loud crack, the distraction enough to stop him from shooting. He turned and a fist flew into his face, sending him to the floor. He shook his head and tried to focus so he could aim, but found that the gun was no longer in his hands. He was about to jump back up but a foot slammed down on his chest.
“You may want to stay down and listen,” a female voice advised him. His eyes finally focused, settling on a beautiful young woman with short brown hair. Behind her stood an equally beautiful blonde, bearing a mean looking sword, “My friend here is real eager to start swinging her sword a bit, my friend, so I want some answers,” Kitty said sternly.
Illyana just smirked as she ran her hand down the length of her blade.
“What do you want to know?” Harry asked desperately.
“You’re part of that gang, right? The one that nabbed Karen Beecher from the Dolls and then nearly fried us as we took back her stuff, right?”
“Yes.”
“What do they have to do with any of this?”
“The Dolls they stole something very valuable to us. They killed many of us, and deserve what they have coming!” he shouted.
“What did they steal?”
“A serum. The boss made it special.”
“What does it do?”
“It amps up muties like you!” the man shouted angrily.
“By ‘amps up’ you mean…?” Kitty prodded, shrugging off the mutie comment in favor of information.
“Makes their, what-cha-ma-call, ‘abilities,’ better. You know, increases their powers and stuff.”
Kitty and Illyana shared a look before Kitty turned back to the man under her foot.
“Why haven’t they used it yet?” Illyana asked, waving her sword.
“They can’t. If they use it before they use their precious ‘process’ then the process don’t work real good.”
“And their process is?” Kitty asked, getting impatient.
“I dunno... do it look like they confide in me ta you? I’m about to kill the bunch of ‘em, so they’re not really talking personal with me much.”
Having heard enough, Kitty swiftly slammed her foot into man’s face, successfully knocking him out.
“Grade A for grammar, by the way,” she called over her shoulder as she and Illyana made a dash for the hall.
---
Piotr was more worried than he had ever been, and that was saying something. He sat still as a statue in his living room, staring at the television and praying his sister would call.
For the fifth time that night he stood. He didn’t even make it to the door this time; once again he just groaned and sat back down. He cracked his knuckles and looked at his watch repeatedly.
“She’s fine. She’s fine,” he told himself over and over again. “I mean, what’s the worst that could happen to a couple of young girls?” he asked himself as he stared back into the television.
“Two young girls are in trouble tonight,” the news anchor said as he tried, unsuccessfully, to look solemn, “as Pamela Isley and Harleen Quinzel escaped from the women’s maximum security prison tonight.”
“Well,” Piotr rationalized, “Kitty and ‘Yana aren’t hardcore criminals. They’ve done a few minor things, but that’s it. They’d never cross the line.”
“The two are considered incredibly dangerous. Their crimes started out at a minor level, but grew to be extremely hostile,” the anchor continued as if he had read Piotr’s mind.
“Well ‘Yana is smarter than that… and after all, she and Kitty only have the best intentions,” he spat through clenched teeth, standing up.
“The two are extremely intelligent, and have often been quoted as saying they strive towards the greater good. If caught, they will be facing a possible life sentence.”
Before the anchor could even finish, Piotr was out the door.
---
“We’re talking about unification,” Rag Doll said warmly as he moved to stand behind the podium. “A lot of you have asked about the whereabouts of our sister, Karen Beecher. Well, she has made a great sacrifice for the rest of us!” he said as the curtain behind him unveiled, revealing the unconscious form of Karen, being wheeled out on a mobile hospital bed.
The Children muttered among themselves but did not waver in their faith that the Ragdoll knew what he was doing. Constance and Doug had entwined hands, both their eyes shimmering with red light. Amidst the uneasy crowd Kitty and Illyana stood staring at the stage, making sure they were not seen by those on it.
Rag Doll smiled as he carried on. He approached Karen and began to wildly start operating a machine attached to her bedside. A low hum enveloped the room as a piece of equipment in the shape of a mouth opened on the machine. From within came a shimmering gold light. All eyes turned to it as it seemed the light began to spill out of the opening, as if it were liquid. As the glow fell it spit into drops; the drops soon lifted and pushed outward. These sparks of light then began to swirl madly towards the crowd.
Doug’s roommate Danny was one of the first to be hit. He was almost knocked over as one of the lights slammed into him. One by one, the Dolls in turn were infused with the golden light. Kitty watched in horror as the Ragdoll laughed. Illyana turned to Kitty.
“Run like hell?"
“But, Doug--”
“Oh, screw it, you don't get a vote,” the blonde muttered, dragging her friend away into one of her eldritch portals. The girls gave Doug one last look as the golden disc closed around them.
To Be Continued...