Spectrum - Members Only

In the year AD 2005, the United States Congress passed a law known as the Anti-Mutant Powers Act. Under this law all mutated humans are required to register with the Bureau of Mutagenic Records. Furthermore, the law states that mutants may not use their power without government permission. Those registered with the government are tagged with subcutaneous markers that keep track of the use of mutagenic abilities. Those not registered are outlaws who are hunted down by the Federal Mutant Patrol. It is in this world that Irene Glover lives her life as Spectrum.

* * *

    Washington, D.C. The nation's capital. Chocolate City. It was a cool summer night. A northeasterly breeze prevented the day's accumulation of heat radiating from the asphalt in the streets from making the evening a stifling one. Dilapidated rowhouses lined the streets of the old Petworth neighborhood. Suddenly, the quiet was broken by the sound of footfalls beating out an erratic tattoo on the pavement. A man, barely twenty, ducked into an alley where he stopped to catch his breath. Sweat poured down his temples and brow. With the caution of a animal being hunted by a predator, he peered around the wall to see if the demon that pursued him still held his trail.

    "There's that thieving son of a bitch!"

    The young man's heart nearly stopped. He resumed his flight. A six foot tall chain link fence blocked the far end of the alley. Already at top speed, the runner easily hurdled the obstacle.

    Not far behind the runner was a woman wearing a white body suit accented in red. She also wore a mask of fury on her face. Her eyes glowed a reddish orange, as if plumes of hell fire threatened to consume them. Her right hand was held aloft. Flame enveloped it and left a trail of smoky vapor as she ran. When the woman reached the fence, she paused only long enough to extend her hand and launch a fire ball at the fence, nearly incinerating it. She continued onward through the smoking hole of molten steel.

    "I'm gonna roast his Black ass!"

    A good distance behind this fiery spectacle were other women who resembled the flaming one. In fact, they are identical in every way except the colors of their body suits. One woman accented in black swore under her breath.

    "Red's out of control! Goldie, take Sky and try to calm her down!"

    "Okay, Irene."

    A woman accented in gold immediately began to float upwards into the air. As she did so, she moved forward and encircled her arms beneath those of another woman accented in light blue.

    "Com'on, Sky. We've got to put a leash on old hot head."

    The two women ascended quickly and began to try and overtake the woman in red.

    "Hey! I'm afraid of heights!"

    "Then don't look down."

    At the head of the excitement, the runner ran out of energy and began to slow. His pursuer took advantage of the closing distance.

    "Eat this, punk!"

    Again, Red extended her hand and launches another fire ball. The runner caught the danger out of the corner of one eye.

    "Yeow!"  The man ducked the fire ball and collapsed into a row of galvanized garbage cans. Red slowed down until she was standing over the young man sprawled across the refuse from the cans.

    "Now, I'm gonna show you what we do to muggers in this town," the woman sneered.

    At that moment, Golden and Sky floated down to where Red was standing. The expression of manic glee in Red's eyes sent a chill up Golden's spine. Sky reached out and grabbed Red's right arm.

    "Clam down, Red. You're going to kill somebody."

    "Sky, if you don't let go of my hand, I'm going change your name to Charcoal Briquette!"

    "You don't really mean that, Red."

    Sky closed her eyes and concentrated on her friend. She reached out with her thoughts into the tempest of emotion that is Red. Finally, she found what she was looking for, the key stone that held up Red's torrent of rage. It took but a moment to remove it, allowing the anger to drain itself away.

    The effects were immediate, as Red seemed to lose all her momentum. Her head swam slightly as a dizziness took over her senses. The adrenaline rush that had been keeping her going was gone.

    "Damn it, Sky! Stay out of my head. I hate that."

    "Sorry, Red, but you were in one of your kamikaze moods."

    Red snatched her arm out of Sky's grip. "How many times do I have to tell you? I don't have moods. I'm just strongly opinionated."

    With her rage gone, Red's final comment came across as whiney. She grimaced at the sound of her own voice. During the by-play between Red and Sky, the young runner had regained his bravado, now that the flaming demoness from hell was no longer a threat. He pulled himself out of his nest of garbage and reached behind his jacket.

    "I don't know who you bitches are, but you're gonna be sorry you messed with me." The thug pulled out a nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol and pointed it at Red. He was completely unaware of the shadowed figure carefully approaching from behind. "I'm willing to bet those outfits aren't made out of Kevlar."

    Suddenly, a hand gently touched the gunman on the shoulder. As he turned to react, the man was taken by a pair of deep green eyes. Eyes that beckoned to him. They drank in his mind and his soul. Eyes that would make him do anything to please them.

    "You may be right, but you won't find out will you?" said the newcomer. It was another one of them. How many did that make it? Five?

    "Uh, n-no," stammered the young man. Those eyes. He couldn't help but fall forever into those eyes.

    "And you you're going to give me the gun, right?"

    "R-right."

    The gunman slowly turned to fully face the woman in green. He handed his pistol carefully to her. The woman took the gun and rewarded the man with a winsome smile.

    Golden clapped her hands together and squealed like a child. "Way to go, Clover!"

    "Show off," grumbled Red.

    The woman in black stepped up to the others.   "Alright, then. Now we call the police."

    Red spat on the ground.  "What do we need the cops for?"

    Irene sighed. She could feel another pointless argument coming on.  "We're not the law, Red. We're just making a citizen's arrest."

    "If you ask me, it's a waste of resources," retorted Red.

    Golden stepped up to Red and gave her a pleading look.  "Everyone deserves a chance, Red."

    "Go away, 'Sunshine,'" rebuffed Red. "You annoy me."

    "Alright, that's enough," called out Irene. "It's time for the rest of you to sleep."

    Irene closed her eyes and thought of nothing, emptiness, a void. When her eyes opened, the only ones standing are the gunman and herself. The man looked around bewildered, slowly recovering from Clover's spell. Irene walked up close to the man in a deliberate invasion of body space.

    "Well, are you prepared to face justice?"

    "Wh-Who the hell are you? Who were those women?"

    Without warning, Irene grabbed the man by the jacket and slammed him into the brick wall alongside the alley.  A realization that his feet weren't touching the ground became readily apparent.

    "Hey!" exclaimed the man in protest.

    "Let's just say they're my back-up team," said Irene in a deathly calm voice. "I can call them up at any time, in an instant. But I don't have to do that, do I?"

    "N-no ma'am," stuttered the gunman. If he thought he was sweating before…

    Irene smiled the smile of the confidant victor.

* * *

    Later the same evening, Irene Glover had returned to her apartment. She quietly removed the body suit she had been wearing and went to shower off the sweat and grime from the evening's activities. As she prepared the shower stall for her nightly ablution, Irene thought about what happened between Red and the man who tried to steal a young woman's purse. She wasn't at all sure about the way things went tonight. The others had a hard time relating to one another, especially Red. Irene skimmed off her remaining garments and stepped into the stall. She hated the thought of it, but it may be necessary to have them work together during the day as well as during their nightly jaunts. A prickle in the base of Irene's spine told her that someone was behind her. The voice she heard confirmed that suspicion.

    "Need someone to scrub your back?"

    Irene nearly jumped out of the stall.

    "I don't recall calling you up," she said peevishly.

    "You didn't. I came out on my own."

    "What!?" This revelation startled Irene even more than the surprise appearance. "That's not possible. You may be just another personality, but you're still me. I still control you."

    "I'm your logical side," said her companion equably. "I alone realize that I can be a separate person. Therefore, I can control my own comings and goings."

    "You shouldn't be able to do that," cried Irene, as if repeating the idea would force it to be true.

    "Relax," replied her twin. "The others are too hindered by their emotional states. Red's anger, Tangy's laziness, Golden's cheerfulness, Clover's lustfulness, Sky's shyness, and Violet's paranoia keep them all trapped within you. Being your logical and rational personality, I am not hindered by emotional barriers."

    "I don't know if I like that," said Irene in worried tones.

    "Think of me as your personal counselor. Your intelligence advisor, if you will."

    Irene shut off the water and stepped out of the stall. She wrapped herself in a large terry cloth towel. "Still, I feel like I'm losing control of a part of myself."

    The other woman followed Irene out of the stall. "You're not losing anything. I'm still part of you. I mean I can't exactly live without you."

    Irene retrieved another towel and handed it to her twin. "You could make yourself decent." Irene then stepped out of the bathroom and into her bedroom.

    Ignoring this comment, the woman followed behind Irene and continued. "In any case, I wanted to talk to you about our future."

    This statement stopped Irene in her tracks. "In what regard?"

    "Well, we're mutants. It would behoove us to join a group, like Mutosis."

    Irene laughed out loud. "Indigo, you've got to be kidding. Heck, we're a group all by ourselves."

    "True," admitted Indigo, "but I was thinking more in terms of funding and organization."

    "I don't see why that's necessary. We don't use any expensive equipment."

    "But we may in the future. Besides, why did you decide to use your powers to fight crime?"

    "I didn't intend to," responded Irene defensively. "I originally used my duplication powers to cure myself of the multiple personalities that were plaguing me. And as you well know, you and the others were created. Since you guys developed these amazing mental powers, I thought using them to help other people was the next logical step. Besides, you all agreed to give it a try."

    "But an organized group could protect us from the government. We are technically outlaws."

    "That's true," assented Irene. Another thought occurred to her. "Incidentally, I don't think we should be making any decision without consulting the others."

    "But you're the one in charge."

    Irene paused at this comment. She had been on guard ever since Indigo first appeared unannounced. Now, she believed she saw Indigo's true motivation. "I think I'm beginning to understand a new facet of you're personality, Indigo, and I don't like it. I think it's time we had a little family discussion."

    Irene closed her eyes and focused on an emotion: anger, ennui, happiness, fear, bashfulness, desire. Upon opening her eyes the room had become crowded as six more women appear dressed only in terry cloth towels.

    "Hey! What's the big idea here?" exclaimed Red. "You could've dressed before you called us!"

    "Sorry, Red, but this is important. It seems our friend Indigo has a selfish streak in her. It's something to be wary of."

    Shocked at Irene's statement, Indigo began to protest. "Irene, I..."

    "Hush, girl. I'm not finished. On the other hand, she has brought up an interesting point that we need to discuss."

    "Why do we have to put up with this shit?" complained Red.

    Golden cringed at Red's language. "Do you really have to swear so much, Red?"

    "It gets rid of some pent-up frustrations," replied Red coolly.

    Clover smirked at Red. "Maybe if you weren't so pent-up and frustrated..."

    The remark hit home and drew the desired response. "Up yours, freak!"

    "You wish, baby."

    Feeling a fight brewing, Golden tried to intercede. "Com'on, you guys..."

    "Enough!"

    Silence filled the room. Seven surprised expressions turned toward one angry one. Irene took a deep breath to control her annoyance. She was getting sick and tired of the petty squabbling that popped up now and again with this bunch.

    "Honestly, Red, I don't think you're happy unless you're fighting with someone." Irene sighed. "In any case, Indigo has confided an interest in joining a mutant organization. I would like to extend the idea by adding that we could start one of our own."

    Each of the women responded according to their usual personality traits.

    "Humph, I take orders from one person.  Me!" said Red.

    "I don't like the idea of working with strangers," protested Violet.

    "I think it's a great idea," chimed Golden.

    "Me, too," agreed Sky.

    "Count me in, I guess," replied Tangy with very little enthusiasm.

    One voice was unaccounted for. Irene turned toward the final vote.

    "What about you, Clover?"

    Clover paused as she considered her choice. "Sure, why not. Maybe we'll meet some cute guys."

    Irene grinned at Clover. A typical response. Clover was not wont to do anything unless men were around to either seduce or merely tempt.

    "Um...yeah. But we need this to be unanimous. Red, I promise that you won't take orders from anyone except me. And Violet, I can't promise that you won't have to interact with strangers, but maybe you'll make new friends."

    "I doubt it," groused Violet.

    "I'll take that as a begrudged 'yes.'"

* * *

    The following night, Irene drove up to an abandoned building on North Capital Street.  In the near distance, the lighted dome of the Capitol building could be seen.  Irene snuck into the condemned building and changed into her Spectrum costume.

    "I guess the best place to look for a night stalking mutant is from the air."

    She closed here eyes and thought pleasant, cheerful thoughts.  Immediately, another woman appeared next to Irene.

    "Wouldn't you agree, Golden?"

    "Absotively posilutely!" cried Golden cheerfully.

    Irene smiled as Golden silently rose into the air.  Again, Irene closed her eyes and thought of boredom.  Again, a woman materialized.

    "Make sure we keep in touch, Tangy."

    Tangerine closed her eyes and focuses on Golden's mind, reading her thoughts. "Golden just flew over the White House."

* * *

    Golden silently soared past Pennsylvania Avenue and glided toward the Foggy Bottom neighborhood.  Even this late in the evening, a small amount of traffic could be seen going past George Washington University.

    "Now, if I were an outlaw vigilante mutant, where would I be in the dead of night?" said Golden to herself.  With a smile she added, "Probably in bed."

    A mild thrumming sound that had gradually been getting stronger suddenly presented itself in the form of a Federal patrol copter blocking Golden's path.  A voice called out on a loudspeaker, "Unidentified mutant, you are in violation of Federal law. Hold your position and wait to be identified."

* * *

    Tangy frowned, "Uh, oh."

    "What is it?" asked Irene.

    "Golden's being pursued by a Mutant Patrol chopper."

    Irene paused to think for a moment.   "Tell her I'm going to pull her out of there."

* * *

    Pilot Graham angled the chopper to keep the search light focused on the mutant woman hovering next to them.  Patrolman Truce, in the meantime, was accessing the Mutant Registration Database.  Suddenly, the mutant's body began to shimmer.

    "What the hell...?" began Graham. But before he could complete his statement, the woman disappeared completely. "Did you see that? She just vanished!"

    "Quick, do an infra-red scan in case she's become invisible," shouted Truce.

* * *

    Golden materialized in front of Irene and Tangerine.  Once she became fully corporeal, she staggered forward a bit as she adjusted from the transition of being airborne one moment and standing on the ground the next.

    Irene reached out to steady Golden. "Are you okay?"

    "Whoa! What a rush!" said Golden. "I've never been absorbed and reconstituted so fast before."

    "Sorry about that," said Irene, "but the last thing we need is to be identified as unregistered mutants."

    "'S'okay," Golden assured Irene. "It was kinda fun, actually. But that chopper's still up there. We need to get out of sight."

    Irene nodded in agreement and the three women headed back down to the ground floor of the building.  As they stepped outside toward Irene's car, a loudly whispered voice called out to them.

    "Hsst! Hey, are you the idiots who brought that chopper down on me?"

    Irene looked into the shadows of an alley next to the condemned building and saw a strange figure.  A woman wearing a green, shoulderless leotard and covered from head to toe in charcoal gray fur appeared before them.  Her face had distinctly feline features.  She even had a long, slim tail.

    "We didn't intend to," apologized Irene. "Actually, we were looking for you."

    Panthera peered at them with a sidelong look.   "Do I know you?"

    "Not exactly," responded Irene.

    "So, what do you want already. I'm a busy woman."

    "We wish to join Mutosis."

    Panthera snorted derisively.  "Look, sweets, I ain't part o' no social club. We're outlaws plain and simple. Quite frankly, you have no idea what you'd be getting yourself into.  In any case, we don't recruit."

    Having her abilities as well as her pride affronted caused Irene to produce Red unexpectedly. "Well, Red, I guess we're not qualified enough to join."

    "'Not qualified' my ass!" snapped Red. "I'll show 'em how qualified we are."

    Before Irene can stop her, Red advanced on Panthera.

    "Ooh, is that a threat?" cooed Panthera. "I certainly hope so. I haven't beaten up on anyone all day."

    Red's eyes begin to glow at being taunted. "Know what my favorite cereal is, Panthera?"  With a flick of her hand Red launched a flame attack.  "Krispy Kitties!"

    Panthera deftly avoided so blatant an attack.   "So, you want to play rough, huh?"  She ducked low and lunged forward at Red with an upward claw strike, shredding Red's uniform across her chest.

    "Hey!" screamed Red, half in anger at the attack, but half in fear of the damage inflicted on her person.  Surprisingly, however, she felt no pain.  Looking down at her chest, Red also noticed that there was no blood.  In fact, there wasn't so much as a scratch on her skin.

    "Well, what do you know about that? You can't hurt me!"  Red advanced on Panthera again, this time with both hands aflame. "But you ruined my uniform you half-breed!"

    Backed into a corner, Panthera quickly glanced around and spied a water pipe.  "Okay, the first thing I need to do is cool you off."  With a slice from her incredibly sharp claws, Panthera created a hole in the pipe, causing water to gush forward at high pressure and pin Red to the opposite wall.   Suddenly, out of nowhere a hand grasps Panthera's arm.  Panthera turned to see another woman identical to the others.  However, this one's uniform was trimmed in dark blue.

    "Now, that wasn't very sporting of you," she said calmly. "We only want help."

    "How the hell many of you are there?" growled Panthera as she snatched her arm loose from Indigo's grip.

    As the water pressure from the broken pipe died down to a trickle, Red is finally able to recover.  She increased her body temperature to a point where the water evaporated away in thick clouds.

    "This chick is really getting me steamed."

    "Well now. That's an interesting choice of words," bubbled one of the nearby puddles.  Shortly thereafter, the water in the puddle surges upward to form a human shape.

    "What the hell...?" exclaimed Red.

    "The name's Hydroxy," responded the newcomer.  "And you're all wet."  Putting both arms forward, Hydroxy produced two powerful jets of water pinning Red to the wall.

    "Stop!" cried Irene. "We didn't come here to fight!"

    "Coulda fooled us, lady."  A pair of gigantic stone arms wrapped around Spectrum, pinning her arms down.  "Looks like a fight to me."

    Irene looked upward at the giant stone countenance towering above her.  "Granite!" she gasped.

    "Call off your sisters," ordered Granite.

    In the alley, Hydroxy had the upper hand over Red, while Indigo had Panthera trapped using her electrokinetic abilities.  Irene concentrated on Red and Indigo and made them disappear.  Realizing that they were being removed from existence, the two try to react.

    "Wha-?" started Indigo in confusion.

    "Hey!" protested Red.

    Granite was in turn verbally assaulted by two more identical women.  "Hey, you big ape!" called out Golden. "Leave Irene alone!"

    "Yeah!" chimed in Tangy.

    Panthera reacted punitively with a claw strike to Golden's face. "Oh, shut your face!"

    Golden screams in agony as the flesh on her face ripped spilling forth blood.  One eye is damaged, blinding her.   Golden crumpled into a fetal position.  "Oh, God! My face!" she moaned.

    "Oh shit," whispered Panthera with the realization of what she'd done. "But, I thought..."

    "Golden!" screamed Irene horrified.  Rage swelled within her, but this time instead of focussing it outward, Irene let it wash over her.  It was her rage, her anger. "Damn you all!"  With adrenaline fed strength, Irene broke loose of Granite's bear hug and hefted him over her head.

    "Yeow!" cried out a surprised Granite as he found himself hurtling toward his team mates.

    "Nobody hurts my girls!" screamed Spectrum in full fury.

    "Uh, oh," mumbled Panthera as the shadow of Granite's bulk loomed above her.

    "Whoa!" exclaimed Hydroxy.  "Look out!" screamed Panthera as both are flattened to the ground beneath Granite's ponderous mass.

    Her anger spent, Irene rushes the Golden's side. "Oh, Golden. I'm so sorry."

    "It's not your fault, Irene," whimpered Golden. "I shouldn't have had my guard down."

    "No, I should have had my force shield up," cried Tangy, chastising herself.

    With difficulty, Spectrum thought quiet peaceful thoughts.  "Sky, Golden needs your healing abilities."

    "No problem," responded Sky as she knelt down beside Golden and cupped the injured face in her hands.  Immediately, Sky's hands began to glow.  "This will only take a few seconds."

    Slowly, the tears in Golden skin began to knit themselves closed.  The blood on her face began to dry and crumble away in accelerated aging.  Soon, Golden's face is smoothed over, as if the injury never took place.   The damaged eye was fully recovered, as was Golden, now that the pain no longer paralyzed her.

    "There you are. As good as the day you were born, so to speak."

    "Thanks, Sky," sighed Golden and embraced Sky in true Golden fashion.

    In the meantime, the three members of Mutosis attempted to recover their dignity.

    "I think you really pissed her off, Panthera," commented Granite as he carefully eased himself off of his comrades.

    "Tell me something I don't know," groused Panthera holding her side in pain. "I think you cracked one of my ribs."

    "I'm feeling a little flat myself," bubbled a nearby puddle.

    Irene turned to the fallen members of Mutosis and pointed an accusatory finger at them.  "I don't know who you people think you are, but you're not the Mutosis I've heard about! I guess that group doesn't really exist! But, I do know one thing, you've made an enemy of me tonight!"

    Granite winced at Irene's statement. "I think she's serious."

    "Yeah, so what?" dismissed Panthera. "Frankly, I'm not impressed."

    "You might be when Clone hears about this disaster," grumbled Granite.

    Panthera's jaw dropped at Granite's threat.   There was nothing more for her to say.

    Anger still flashing in her eyes, Irene turned away from Mutosis. "Com'on, girls. Let's go home." They all piled into Irene's car and sped off into the after midnight traffic.

* * *

    Irene Glover had found it difficult to get some sleep after the evenings run-in with Mutosis.  Part of it was the fact that she was still angry over the incident.  The other part was that she had lost her admiration and respect for Mutosis.  Finally, she was able to drift off to sleep.

    "Irene?"

    The voice stirred Irene back to wakefulness.   "Huh? Indigo, what time is it?"  She peered at the clock.  The face read quarter past three in the morning.

    "I need to talk to you," said Indigo meekly.

    "Can't this wait?" sighed Irene.   Indigo was that last person she wanted to talk to right now. "I have to go to work in the morning."

    "I wanted to apologize," continued Indigo. "You were right about me. I am selfish. I wanted the prestige of being in a highly publicized group, and because of me, Golden was hurt."

    Irene sat up in bed and looked down at the woman kneeling beside it.  "Hey, I understand. I have to admit that the idea of joining Mutosis was appealing to me, too. But Golden getting hurt wasn't your fault."  She reached out and puts a hand against Indigo's cheek, much the way a mother would to comfort a child.  I guess, in a way, they are my children, thought Irene.

    "Anyway, some good did come out of it," expounded Irene. "We've learned that being an outlaw mutant isn't as glamorous as we were led to believe, and our fighting and teamwork skills need some serious refining. And, there's still the idea about making our own group. I think we'd make a pretty damn good one."

    "But I might endanger the others again."

    Irene smiled. "No more than Red would running off half cocked. You can't change who you are. I wouldn't want you to. Get some sleep. I promise we'll talk about it in the morning."

    Indigo looked up at Irene for the first time. "Would it be okay if I slept here with you?"

    "Well...," hesitated Irene with some discomfort, "okay, but if you snore I'm kicking you onto the floor."

END