I don’t know why I had agreed to hold hands with the twins again! No, scratch that; that’s a lie. I know exactly why I did it: I did it because Michael, my non-mutant, super-soldier boyfriend, was so intrigued by the twins’ power that he just had to see it for himself. Of course I had to agree, not just because he was my boyfriend, but because he had been so very good about the whole me being a mutant thing. That, and he was nice enough not to turn me and my friends in to the government to be used as weapons or test subjects. So, here I was - with Michael, Sto, and Jay - at the twins’ house in New Jersey, about to travel who-knows-where in history using their power of time travel. Girl Twin supposedly can travel back in time, Boy twin forward, so together they could travel anywhere they wanted. I say ‘supposedly’ because the last time we were subjected to their powers, we were chased by a T-rex. It was like we had fallen into a 1970s cartoon or, as Jay put it, like we were suffering from a bad acid trip. We had ‘returned’ without a scratch, but we wondered if we really had gone anywhere at all. I looked across the basement to where Michael was sitting. He had better show his appreciation after this was over. He immediately noticed my eyes on him. “What?” I smiled slightly. “What what?” “You were looking at me.” My smile grew. “You’re fun to look at.” “Knock it off,” Jay said from the corner. “You’re making me ill.” “Well, someone’s in high spirits,” Michael said to me with a smirk. “Actually, he’s grumpier than usual,” I responded, “although it’s tough to tell with an untrained ear.” I turned. “So, what’s wrong Jay?” “I don’t get why we’re doing this again,” he responded. I tilted my head. “Well, I know why we’re here. Why you’re here, I have no idea.” Jay sighed the sigh of the overburdened. “Well, what kind of friend would I be if I let you go into danger alone? You remember what happened last time.” “And how exactly did you help with the hungry Tyrannosaurus, Jay?” I asked. “C’mon! Everybody knows there’s safety in numbers! Right, Mike?” Michael glanced at me before responding. “When it comes to dinosaurs, sure. More is always better.” “For the dinosaur, at least,” I said, looking at the stairs. “Where the heck are they? No one needs this much prep time.” “Maybe Sto’s helping them make tea.” I raised my eyebrows at Jay. “Tea? Why tea?” “Well, you don’t want to drink anything too heavy before traveling.” I was about to respond when Sto and the twins came downstairs. “Is everybody ready?” Girl Twin asked. Michael stood up eagerly. “I am! Where are we going to go?” The twins looked at each other knowingly. “It’s a surprise!” Girl Twin answered. I sighed. “Isn’t it always?” “C’mon Diana,” Sto coaxed. “It’s an adventure!” “That’s my life,” I grumbled as we lined up. “One scary-ass adventure after another…” “And you’re complaining to who, exactly?” Michael asked. “Oh, hush up and hold my hand.” I glanced to my right. “You too, Jay.” “I wasn’t going to say anything,” Jay said, for once doing what he was told. He then told Boy Twin, “I swear, I don’t care if you have to sneeze, throw up, or pick up your decapitated head, you will not let go of my hand.” “Paranoid much?” Girl Twin asked. “It’s not really paranoia once you’ve been chased by an angry T-rex,” Jay replied, grabbing Boy Twin’s hand tightly. “Can you at least let the blood circulate to my fingers?” Boy Twin asked, wincing. “Sure I will!” Jay nodded. “Once we get where we’re going.” Girl Twin looked past us to her brother. “Are we ready?” “Ready.” I nodded. “Pray.” “OK,” Girl Twin said, ignoring me. “One… two… three.” I opened my eyes; I hadn’t realized I had closed them. “What the hell am I wearing?” It really hadn’t been the first thing I noticed. The first thing I had noticed was that we were in a back ally that smelled a lot like horse. I noticed the dust and the noise of wagons and the people looking like extras from Cat Ballou walking past the ally, all to busy to notice us. But the outfit! Ugh, the outfit! It was like something Miss Beadle would wear in Walnut Grove. Buttoned up to the neck with lace and ruffles and… my gods! Was I wearing a bustle?!? I lifted up my skirts slightly to see the really high boots I was wearing, all buttons and lace too. On my head was what felt like a top hat, with feathers and chains and who knew what else. I turned to Jay, who was wearing black cotton from head to toe: pants, shirt, jacket, suspenders, hat. “Why do you have goggles on your hat?” I asked him. “Probably for the same reason you do.” I turned to Girl Twin, who was wearing a little more than a chemise with a corset and drawers. “Why am I wearing goggles on my hat?” She rolled her eyes. “Because that’s the style.” “Of course.” I walked back to where Michael was standing, his back to me. “You OK?” “Di, have you seen this gun?” He held up something that looked like a mix of a revolver, a ray gun, and a something that should’ve been part of an old metal radiator. “How do you know it’s a gun?” I asked. He gave me a look and pointed to himself. “Um… sniper, remember?” He stared at me for a few moments in silence. “I think that parasol makes the outfit, you know.” I looked down at the fancy umbrella - frilly like everything else - and shrugged. “I feel like an idiot.” “Well, you look incredible.” He turned to the twins. “So now what?” Boy Twin gave us a sweeping bow; I noticed the gun in his hand wasn’t as impressive as Michael’s, but the goggles on his top hat were large and tinted red. He was the only one of the guys wearing a vest over his shirt. “Enjoy the town. We’ll meet back here in…” He turned to his sister. “What? Three hours?” She nodded. That’s when I noticed that her corset material matched her brother’s vest. “It should be fun! Especially since we can now interact with the people.” Sto looked at her; I did not like the look of surprise on his face. “We can what?” She nodded. “Yeah, Boy Twin and I figured out how to do that a few months ago. That’s why we now wear the garb.” “So these are real?” Michael asked, holding up his gun. “They can shoot and everything?” I folded my arms across my tightly cinched waist as the Twins nodded. “You know, being able to shoot at stuff shouldn’t always be your first priority.” “It’s not the first,” he replied with a smile. “But it is important information to have.” He held out his left arm to me. “Shall we?” I shifted my parasol from my right hand to my left; for a lightweight umbrella, it was rather cumbersome. “Sure, why not.” We stepped out of the ally with Sto and Jay behind us. The twins had already gone their own way, heading down the wooden sidewalk towards what looked like the only respectable restaurant in the town. “They seem very comfortable in their surroundings,” Jay said, watching them go into the building. “Exactly what are these surroundings?” I asked, watching a handful of schoolchildren wearing a lot of hardware run past. “I’ve been forced to watch enough westerns to know that this isn’t anywhere in our country’s past.” Sto asked, “Maybe some other country’s?” at the same time Michael said, “Forced to watch?” In this case, I ignored my boyfriend. “Sto, what country has ever been this backwardly advanced in the… what? 1800s? And what’s with the goggles? Do they help pick out the aliens from the humans?” “You’re right Di.” Sto shrugged. “But what can we do? We’re here now. Let’s enjoy it.” He turned to Jay before I could respond. “Methinks I hear a saloon.” Jay nodded. “Methinks I hear it too.” He nodded to me and Michael. “You guys coming?” Michael glanced at me. “Want to go?” “You go ahead,” I told him. “I’m going to wander around the town for a bit.” “Are you sure?” Sto asked. “Sure! I’ve got my parasol… and my powers. I’ll be fine!” “Maybe moving things with your mind isn’t the best thing to be doing in the 1800s,” Michael said. Did I ever mention how good he looks dressed up like a cowboy? “Huh?” “No throwing things with your brain Dee,” Sto replied, walking away, “It may scare the locals.” I nodded, then brushed my lips against Michael’s. Lemme tell you, it was tough to get close between the hats we wore and the gadgets hanging from our waists. “Have fun,” I whispered. “You too,” he said. “But not too much.” “Hey, do I get a kiss too?” Jay asked. “Sure,” I said, starting across the street… such as it was. “Michael, kiss him.” *** Read the rest of the story in Sto’s House Presents... Mutants on the Rocks Available 2012 from Dark Quest Books Need your Sto fix now? Then get Sto’s House Presents... Beer with a Mutant Chaser Available now from Dark Quest books:
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