Issue 1 Downtime

Behind where all the mingling was happening, a black panel van pulled up, and out stepped girl in her early twenties with strawberry blonde hair and humongous sunglasses, checking a piece of paper and then looking up at the church.

Onyx stands at the door, greeting people as they come in.

Mara, for that is who it is, began making a long, slow circle of the church, looking it up and down, and all around, checking her piece of paper.

Onyx watches Mara intently without approaching the girl.

Apparently satisfied, Mara walks back to her van, and opens the back, starting to rummage around, setting a couple cases on the ground as she looks for something.

Like one of those creepy slasher movies, Onyx suddenly appears next to Mara, "Can I help you, ma'am?"

"Gah!" she cries, falling down into the van. "Don't DO that!" she yells, angrily.

"I am sorry if I scared you," Onyx says, picking up one of the cases, "Here, let me help you."

"No, that's quite alright. Who are you! Get your hands off of my case," she said, taking it back and throwing it back into the van roughly.

"Are you a guest for the wedding?" Onyx asks.

"I was invited, yes," she said after a moment's pause.

"And your name is?"

"Why do you care? Busybody. Why don't you go and do...whatever it is you people do in your spare time and leave me be?" she said, purposefully turning her back on Onyx.

"I am in charge for security for this wedding, ma'am," Onyx says, giving the girl her best "innocent little girl" smile.

"YOU? Ugh, I should have figured. What, you have a guest list or something?"

"No," Onyx says, "But I am a very good judge of character, ma'am."

"And why the hell does Willy think he needs security?" she continued, obviously annoyed.

"Willy?" Onyx asks.

"This IS Willy's wedding, yes? I got the right address?" she says, handing Onyx a piece of paper.

It's a printout of an E-mail, sent by Will, announcing that he was getting married, and informing his friends back in high school that he was, in fact, a mutant, and inviting them to the wedding overseas. It was sent to his high school's alumni mailing list.

"Oh, you're one of Will's old friends?" Onyx asks, "Interesting."

"Oh, me and Willy go way back. We're like this," she says, interlocking two fingers.

"So, you've slept with her?" Onyx asks, a bit confused at the hand motion.

"No, HE was saving HIMSELF for marriage...

He's not the BRIDE, is he? I knew he was a freak; I didn't think they were cross-dressers" she said, barely able to squeak out the last bit.

A shadow of a sly smile crosses Onyx's face, "Thank you. That was all I needed."

"I do not think I will be letting you into the wedding."

"You're kidding me!" she protested.

Onyx casually punches out the side window of Mara's van.

"Please leave. You are not wanted here."

"What the hell, bitch! You're going to have to pay for that! It's due back at the rental place!"

"Oh, I doubt that," Onyx asks, glancing at the shadows the van is casting, "I think we are going to take a little trip."

"A trip? Look, crazy lady," she says, pulling a one-hundred dollar bill out of her pocket, and pressing it into Onyx's palm. "Go get a coffee or something. Come back in half an hour."

Onyx grabs hold of the girls shoulders and steps through the shadows.

A moment later, she returns alone.