Disclaimer: The New Mutants belong to Marvel, my inspiration belongs to me and your opinion about this story belongs to you. Author: Hekatis Title: Do you really want to know what lies beneath the surface? Rating: PG (some slight sexual allusions) Characters: Doug, Rahne, Illyana, Dani, Roberto, Sam, Warlock, Amara Type of story: contains funny moments, elements of character study and even a message if you analyze it hard enough Archiving: Please ask first unless I gave you prior permission. Feedback: will be welcomed at: hekatis@hotmail.com Dedication: To the reader who suggested my stories would be easier to read if I neatly divided them into chapters. Do you really want to know what lies beneath the surface by Hekatis ****** Chapter 1: Doug's diary About a week ago, the New Mutants were visited by an entity known as the "Beneather" -- the one who sees hidden talents beneath the surface. Ever since, we have been trying to develop hidden talents we never thought we had -- and slowly I'm beginning to wonder if we really don't have them. Anyway, the entity suggested we write down our experiences in a diary at least once a week so that we will be able to analyze the widening of our capabilities later, and that's what I'm doing now, hoping that the process of writing will allow me to detect new qualifications in myself I was not able to notice during last week's busy expanding of my activities. I have learned to handle brittle chalk sticks, arrange candles in a perfectly round circle and chant incantations in all pitches -- to put it briefly, I'm working as an exorcist. My original intention was to augment my ability to meditate in an Indian ashram, but there was only one vacant place and Amara was faster in claiming it than me. The job of an exorcist demands that I wear long black robes and I still feel slightly ridiculous in them, but this feeling no longer hampers my work and by now I consider it an advantage that the ghosts usually burst out laughing when they see me. I am far less amused, however, by their tendency not to vanish when I've finished my exorcism ritual. Instead, they prefer to smear 'I'm an idiot' on my robe and exhibit me tied up and gagged in the nearest shopping window. Actually, there was one female ghost who said I was cute and wanted to do something else to me but Roberto completed the banishing ritual before I could get any satisfaction out of it. I still don't understand why Roberto had to be assigned as a colleague to me, considering all the other activities he could be pursuing -- such as growing radishes in Antarctica or selling hot green tea in Germany since both areas have an acute shortage of these goods. I also wonder why the ghosts never attack him. Could it be that Illyana wove a protection spell around him? Unfortunately, I lost track of this couple's break-up and make-up history a long time ago, so I don't know what the likelihood is of Illyana helping Roberto not to be put in embarrassing situations on a 5-times a day basis by ghosts who doggedly refuse to be exorcised. On the other hand, Illyana is directing 73,4% of her comments about what lousy exorcists we are at Roberto, so I'm inclined to believe in at least _some_ sort of higher justice in life. Nevertheless, I have a sinking feeling that I _am_ a lousy exorcist... ******Chapter 2: Illyana's diary I am a good saleswoman of cosmetic products. I am going to be successful. I am successful. I almost sold one product today. After all these careful preparations... I dressed up in a beige costume, although I hate costumes and especially beige costumes. I carefully painted my face. I even painted my nails rose. I heeded all the advice in the manual about sales promotion. I tried to create a trusting atmosphere. I listened to that woman's complaints about her neighbors and the weeds in her vegetable bed. I didn't tell her that she's lucky to have at least weeds in her vegetable bed because nothing ever comes of it if I try to grow plants. I assured her that she is a hard working woman and that she deserves to do something good for herself. I told her about the miracles my beauty products could work. I didn't conjure up any demons when she told me rose nails didn't suit me. And just when she was about to buy an anti-wrinkle cream from me, her husband showed up and announced that it was time to call the pizza service if they wanted to have something to eat for supper. Within seconds, the atmosphere I had so carefully created vanished and thoughts turned from fragile beauty that needs to be protected against a hostile environment to chili peppers and onions. I consequently cursed all caterers of pizza in the area, but this doesn't change the fact that I am the only buyer of my cosmetic products and that the anti-wrinkle cream causes me to itch. ******Chapter 3: Rahne's diary I tried to repair the computer but I think I failed. When the computer didn't come alive upon pressing the start button, although it was plugged in, I feared it was broken. I thought about calling Doug but then I know he is busy with his new job as an exorcist and I can't always depend upon others when it comes to computers. So I fetched the manual, with shaking hands. I didn't understand all of it but it said that I had to check the connectors at the rear end of the box that is called a midi-tower. I did this and everything seemed okay. So I had to dismantle the midi-tower. Everything looked so chaotic inside. I fetched two other manuals in order to understand the tangle of cables and plates, but it didn't help much. I read the manual again and I checked every connector and every screw. I reassembled the computer and it still didn't work. I know I must not despair but how can I not? I feel so stupid. Why can't I learn how to repair a computer? I wish Illyana wouldn't yell that loudly at Sam. I can understand that she is mad at him for just lying on the couch and trying to develop a philosophy of staring into the air and eating jellies instead of reconnecting the fuses but I think Sam has a right... Wait. Sam disconnected the fuses?!? ******Chapter 4: Roberto's scratch notes (kind of an ersatz-diary) Write a diary?!! How can anyone expect that I would ever want to remember this period of my life?!! ******Chapter 5: A sketch from Warlock (He is following a course for impressionist painting in France.) o p p p -------------------------------------------- ******Chapter 6: Doug's script for a screenplay (about a demon sorceress who unsuccessfully tries to sell cosmetic products and a businessman who unsuccessfully tries to exorcise ghosts) Prologue (Author's note: All resemblance to living people is pure chance and absolutely unintended.) Scene 1: (Author's sidenote: Is it unethical to eavesdrop when listening to people even worse off than yourself makes you feel better? I need to investigate this. Maybe Sam can come up with a moral justification for it.) At first, a short scene to characterize the protagonists and their main problem: Roberto enters Illyana's room. Illyana is painting her nails yellow. Illyana: "How many ghosts did you exorcise today?" Roberto: "How many beauty products did you sell today?" After this seemingly casual exchange, they stare at each other in icy silence for about 87 seconds. Illyana is the first to speak. She clenches her fist and lifts her chin determinedly. Illyana: "I will succeed." Roberto: "If you say so." Icy silence reigns between them for another three minutes. Illyana finishes painting her nails. Roberto breaks the silence. The casualness of his words masks hidden malice. Roberto: "You know, Illyana, yellow nails don't suit you at all." Illyana spins around to glare at him furiously and retort. Illyana: "And neither do black exorcist robes become you. Doug at least has the decency to look pathetic in them, but on you, they just look wrong." Roberto tries to remain calm but his tense posture reveals the anger underneath. He replies. Roberto: "I'm not going to fail the job that was assigned to me." Illyana is getting more and more annoyed. She almost shouts. Illyana: "The only ghost you ever managed to exorcise was the one that was busy seducing Doug." Roberto remains composed. A cruel twinkle appears in his eyes. He retorts. Roberto: "That's one more success than you have." They start to stare at each other in icy silence again. Next scene: Depending on the budget, repeat the previous scene (with slightly different dialogue) up to 100 times. ******Chapter 7: Danielle's voice record "Maybe if I have Roy seduce Sarah I could establish a connection between them that would explain why she is bent on finding out if Karla is really his wife. But I still need to motivate the murder of Adam. Or maybe I could write it to signify a parable of the lethal indifference in modern society. But then I need to stylize the dialogue and I have already put so much effort into the characterization of the side characters. Perhaps I could... {knock on the door} Illyana, I'm busy and I'm not going to buy any of your cosmetic products." "I'm not trying to sell you anything -- though pink lipstick would really complement your face. I just wanted to ask you if you could lend me your super fertilizer." "You need a fertilizer? Don't tell me that you actually managed to grow something that looks remotely like a plant." "Actually, there is a dandelion on my plant bed." "Wow. Are you going to try and win a prize for it?" "I want it to flourish. It's the only plant in my plant bed that ever made it past the bud stage. And besides, don't you think that you were a much friendlier person before you undertook this foray into creative writing?" "You've got no idea how difficult it is to construct a captivating plot, come up with believable characterization and choose suitable words." "I guess not since I didn't read all the style and writing guides you borrowed from Rahne." "These books are unworthy. I found 13 grammatical errors within one chapter in one of the style guides, and when I read the prose of other writers I keep stumbling over sentences that could be better formulated." "You could write a better book." {deep sigh on Dani's part} "I can't think of a plot that both makes sense and is halfway interesting." {resigned sigh on both Dani's and Illyana's part} "I didn't sell anything today -- nor this week -- or ever." "Maybe cosmetics just aren't your product. You know, you have to believe in the product you sell." "Hmm. By the way, what do the handcuffs, the nylon scarf and the black mask on your shelf mean?" "I tried to write a novel about police officers and bought the handcuffs to find inspiration. The nylon scarf was for a poem about a model, and the black mask for a short story about Zorro." "Hmm. Could you lend those articles to me? I think I just found a product that I can believably sell." "And where am I going to find my inspiration?" "Don't you think you'd be a much better lector than a writer? I heard Sam needs a beta-reader for his new book about the meaning of chewing gum." ******Chapter 8: Rahne's diary After I have been baby-sitting Illyana's demons for the past two weeks, I wonder how I could ever think that computers are difficult to handle. I'm glad that Illyana has become such a successful businesswoman though I'm still not clear on what she actually sells. When I asked Roberto -- her co-manager -- he told me it had something to do with people's dark fantasies and I did not really want to know. Maybe he just didn't have time to explain it to me because he also manages Sam's philosophy books, Doug's screenplays and Warlock's postcards. Personally, I find Doug's scripts depressing but if writing them makes him feel better... I'm still surprised that Doug could convince Roberto to be his manager. All I know is that they had a long discussion that involved the words 'comparative advantage', 'specialization' and 'relative happiness' quite a lot. I think what Doug wanted to say is that managing his teammates is a much better investment of Roberto's resources than trying to annihilate ghosts, but I'm not sure. Warlock's postcards, though, are wonderful. I especially like his first sketch, trees on a sunny meadow. I'm a bit concerned about Amara's behavior. Since she returned from an Indian monastery, she has kept claiming that she is able to see us through walls.