A PR nightmare?

[guardian]

Born with phenomenal mutant powers…
Destined to save humanity from threats of all kind…
Protector of the innocent, defender of justice…

He is… GUARDIAN!!!



Kyle Kennedy’s posh apartment, Washington DC, one hour after the event known as “The Baltimore Incident”


Kyle Kennedy leaned back in his oversized recliner, after having been frozen to the television set, leaned forward the entire time. Now he slumped, one hand trying to brush away the tension headache that was building behind his eyes.

The cell phone on the stand next to him chirped, and he looked up at the roof with a sigh before picking it up.

“Kennedy.” He said, slightly deflated.

“Kyle – you watching the news?” A somewhat chipper sounding man said from the other end.

“Yeah, how the hell could I not be watching the news Matt? This is a goddam dark day here at chez Kennedy.” Kyle said, irritation blending with his genuine defeat.

“Ha, I knew you’d say that you cynic – 'cause you’re not thinking laterally. Let me guess, you think that this mutant fiasco in Baltimore pretty much just shot all your endorsements, and - ”

“- And shut down ‘Guardian’ before it started. You’re damn right that’s what I’m thinking. What the hell else should I be thinking?” Kyle said through gritted teeth.


'Guardian' in this sense didn’t just mean the reality show scheduled to launch next week.He and his ad-exec, Matthew Corone, referred to the entire idea of Kyle as a public icon superhero – the whole idea, the whole package, the whole project – as simply “Guardian.”

The project was spearheaded by Kyle, of course, he’d been the one born with the impressive array of powerful mutant powers, and the one who’d successfully hidden the fact for years – up until the X-men were revealed to the public and partially accepted as ‘heroes’… but the project, which promised to make Kyle a very rich and famous man, couldn’t have been accomplished as smoothly without Matt. Or without Kyle’s ridiculously talented assistant – who we’ll discuss later.

Matt continued: “Think Laterally. Sure this looks bad. Tons of bodies, explosions, dead mutants and humans alike. But WHO looks bad? Guardian? Or his primary competition for public favorability – the X-Men?”

Kyle sat up, expression softening. Now he was really listening.

“Think about it,” Matt said. “I’ve already got Alice down at Premiere ready to do an additional few lines to your interview, about the incident. Once the magazine hits the press, they’ll be crawling all OVER you about your opinion on it. The show’s not going to be cancelled, it’ll be pushed forward… don’t you see? This is going to be the fucking CATAPULT to getting Guardian going. This is exactly what we needed. Tomorrow there will be two major news reports on mutant affairs. The first will be about the X-Men’s fucking slaughterhouse in Baltimore. The second will be about Guardian saving a senator in a restaurant in D.C. Both conflicting, both controversial. Both good f’n TV, and even better press – for YOU.”

Kyle Kennedy, aka Guardian, leaned back in his chair once more. This time relaxed. This time focused. This time with a toothy smile spreading across his face.

[maddy]

Idly running her fingers through her long red locks, Madelyne pushed the button on the remote control with her mind, flipping through the channels slowly. It was her day off, and she was terribly bored - nothing too interesting had happened just yet, and Dr. Phil was not the kind of man who could keep her attention for very long. She thought about showering, getting off the cream leather couch and changing out of her black silk dressing gown into some proper clothes; maybe going out on the town - but Washington was far less entertaining than New York. With a sigh, she flipped back to Dr. Phil and was pleased to see something else interrupting him - death, destruction, mayhem, it didn't matter what it was, Maddie smiled simply to have something else to interest her.

After seeing the X-Men involved in an absolute fiasco of an incident at the NovaTex facility in Baltimore, she realised that her day off would probably not end up being quite as boring as she'd thought. Kyle would be seeing the news broadcast at any moment, so she turned the volume up and wandered into the bathroom, leaving the door open as she showered so that she could hear anything new. Dr. Phil was back soon enough, though, and she rolled her eyes as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair, reaching out with her power to change the channel again until she found a news station.

"And Johnny Depp..." Only inane prattle now, coming from the airheads that they employed to deliver bad news, as though a pretty face would somehow make it seem better. She turned the volume down, stepping out of the shower and moving all the water molecules off her skin and hair with a thought, dumping them back into the tub with a splash.

It was as she was picking out an outfit that Maddie heard a familiar name being said, and she walked back out to the television in her underwear, looking at the picture that flashed up on the screen with a smile. As the presenter explained that Dr. Essex was the man who had managed to crack the formula for the cure - or the Option, as they were now calling it, Madelyne raised one slim eyebrow. "What are you up to now?" He looked the same. He always looked the same.

She turned the television off, the living room rearranging itself as she walked out, and returned to her bedroom to finish dressing. The bedcovers straightened without any physical touch, her robe returning to it's usual place and the drawers closing themselves. She picked out a suit - black, with a low cut white shirt underneath, the most daring outfit that she wore in public, and fixed her hair into a sleek knot behind her head as she gathered up her things. Checking her handbag to make sure that she had everything, Madelyne did one last check in the mirror and composed herself, slipping into her public face in much the same way as she'd slipped into her knee length pencil skirt. Remembering the box that had arrived the day before, she walked back into the lounge room and tucked it under her arm, making sure that everything was in order there before returning to the hall. Stepping into black stilettos and turning off the lights, she wandered out into the hallway and waited for the lift to arrive, flipping open her cell phone and hitting 'redial'.

"Kyle, I assume you've seen the news? I'm on my way down." She was already thinking how much of a stroke of luck this was.

[guardian]

"Kyle, I assume you've seen the news? I'm on my way down."

He hung up the phone and sat it back on the glass corner table.

Strolling over to the large, wall length window, Kyle stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. The view was right out over downtown DC, and was, by all regards, breathtaking. This was getting better and better. Baltimore may have just launched his career, and given him the in he needed. Now all he needed was for Xarxika the Bug-man to do his job tomorrow at the restaurant, and all would be fine. Better than fine.

Maddy would be down here in a second, and that would be better too. She’d only been his PA for a couple weeks, and already she’d proven herself completely invaluable. He was unsure how much to let her in on, though, before knowing her loyalties. She was a hottie, though, and that usually influenced him. This was big, however, and he knew better than to just throw it all away on a dame. It was his chance for the spotlight. Hell, tomorrow, or a week from now, he could be the most popular person on the Earth. The thought was staggering.

[maddy]

"Ah, elevator music." She actually found herself moving her head in time to the beat as she travelled down two floors, and she was smiling as she walked down and rapped on his door. It was the kind of smile that Madelyne usually reserved for the bedroom, and she managed to tone it down just a little as the door opened. There was still a hint of mischeif about her expression, though.

Maddie greeted Kyle with a nod, immediately striding into his apartment as though she belonged there. In a way, she did. Besides, it was only a matter of time, in her mind - she knew that he found her attractive, and she certainly wouldn't mind a piece of that action. If he was up for it. Her face didn't reflect her thoughts as she set her purse down on the couch, spinning around to proffer the box.

"It arrived yesterday, I didn't get a chance to pick it up until the afternoon." She'd looked in it, of course, but there was no way for him to know that. His super-suit looked a little ... feeble, lying there in the box, and she couldn't wait to see what it looked like on him. Good, if it was as form fitting as she thought it would be. The cape seemed a little much, though, and Maddie couldn't help but flash him a smile that bordered on smirking as she wondered if he'd been one of those kids who ran around with his underwear on the outside.

[guardian]

So maybe Kyle did play in his superman under-roos as a kid. Maybe he even wore his underwear on the outside on occasion… but that’s not what this was about. This was dollar signs. It was fame. Glory. Power.

The world needed a figurehead, a superhero. Who was the greatest superhero of all time? Superman, of course. Supes wore a cape, Guardian will wear a cape. People associated superheroes with capes and tights. So viola.

Of course, this cape was made of space-age fabrics developed by NASA, and fine tuned by the good people at Nike – just like his tights. It was flame resistant to the extreme, had special wiring to help filter out electrical charges, and had it’s own network of fiber optics to plug his Sony-made electronics into.

All that and more, he thought. Various megacorps were competing to supply him with all kinds of super-gear. The Guardian project was a success before it was even born. When he smushed the bug, and saved the senator… then they’ll know it was a good choice.

He glanced up at Maddy, catching … amusement? He gave her a slight smile, and drew the dark blue suit out, it was trimmed in white. On the chest, a slightly glowing ‘G’ logo was printed. The cape had the same on the back. It was perfect.

“Should I try it on?” He asked, only the faintest hint at excitement in his voice. Even he was unsure if it was the money or the playing superhero that did it.

[maddy]

Dark blue, white trim, the faintly glowing 'G'... it would have made her laugh if the X-Men weren't running around in leather - that bunched strangely at the crotch, in some cases. Kyle's new suit certainly wasn't going to bunch anywhere - no, now that she saw it held up in his hands, she was certain that it was going to be skintight, encasing every muscle in the smooth dark fabric.

It wasn't exactly fabric, well, not the kind that most people were familiar with. The suit was hi-tech, the kind that companies competed to make, and enhanced with all sorts of features. None of that was overly interesting to her, though, when Kyle asked if he should try it on.

"Oh, please do." Can I watch? Her expression didn't change from that amused, mischeivous smile. Yes, yes, this job was going to be fun after all. When do I get my super suit?

[guardian]

Kyle changed in the bathroom that was attached to the main room, the door open so he could continue talking. It was some work getting into the thing, getting all the parts snugged where they were supposed to be, but it was extremely comfortable some how.

“So, does it bother you that I’m a mutant?” He asked from the bathroom.

[maddy]

Oh, if only you knew. She wondered if she could sneak a look, but decided against it. Madelyne was patient enough. She could wait a few weeks.

"Should it?" She sat down on the edge of the couch, crossing one leg over the other and shaking her stilleto-ed foot impatiently.

"Are you dressed yet, or would you like a hand?"

[guardian]

Kyle paused for a moment, head cocked. Did she just say… she was quite the vixen. She tried to hide it, but Kyle was a salesman: He could read people with remarkable accuracy, and he knew that this one was a hot little potato. Bet she’s mean in the –

“I got it, and should it?” He asked, disrupting his line of thought. “I dunno, mutants come with mixed popularity. Most people are at least somewhat squeamish around mutants… I’ve had to hide my abilities for my whole life...Here, check this out.”

He stepped out of the bathroom every inch the comic book super-hero. The outfit sculpted his incredibly built body, conforming to each curve and arch. The blue was deep, stretched across his chest regally, and looked outstanding with the white highlights. On his feet were a fashion of boots, a bit more modern looking than typical superhero boots, definitely Nike in design. The cape swished behind him, looking more like the cape of a medieval knight than some hokey costume. Amazingly, he looked impressive… still like a modern day superhero, so somewhat odd, but impressive.

[maddy]

"Mmm," it could have been a non-commital noise were it not followed up with, "You look good, Kyle." She managed to ignore his thoughts about her - entirely innapropriate for a working relationship, not that it bothered Maddie in the least - and keep her expression smooth. Soon, darling.

"Like a hero." He actually did look like he could save the world. This whole reality television concept did worry her at times - would they be providing villains, or would they simply wander around rescuing kittens from trees until someone decided to prove themselves against the Guardian?

"I imagine a lot of mutants hide who they are. There is unnecessary prejudice, and this idea of a cure doesn't help matters. No matter that they're calling it the Option, now, it will still mean the same thing to most people." She kept up on mutant news. It was her job after all, but very few people realised that she had a personal interest as well.

[guardian]

Kyle smirked. “Yeah, the ‘option’ business is a joke, isn’t it? Such a small thing to cause such an uproar. It’s America, make your buck how you want, just don’t force anything on people. If a mutant wants to be cured, it’s his dime.”

He stood in front of the body length mirror, turning around and round, getting a better look at himself. “Hmm, this really does look good.”

He took a few strides across the room, and turned toward her. “Tomorrow we get the first real test. There’s going to be a… prearranged demonstration of my abilities, for the newspapers. Should work out fine. As for now – how bout we head up to the roof, test this baby out?”

[maddy]

My, but that full length mirror really did give a good view. Madelyne kept her face controlled to passive observance. Pity the cape's in the way. Those tights were... well, tight, and Kyle certainly had the body to pull off the outfit.

"What about film crews?" If she needed to make arrangements, she would, but it couldn't look like the event was staged or everything would go wrong. There wasn't a lot about the project that Maddie didn't know - men were easy enough to read most of the time without even needing to listen in on their thoughts.

"Alright, but we should be careful. Don't want to ruin carefully laid plans by tearing a hole in it during testing." She doubted that they could get a new suit out by tomorrow, and the suit was integral to his whole image. Madelyne wondered again if there was any way she could get a suit of her own, without them knowing who it was. Unlikely without a lot of creative work on her part, and besides - she'd prefer to show a bit more skin.

[guardian]

Kyle shook his head. “No film crews… needs to be authentic. I’ve got a guy conveniently there with a camera, being paid to sneak a peak and film the Senator. He thinks he’ll be getting paid to pick up dirt, to see if there’s anything she’s doing out she shouldn’t be. He’ll actually be there for the rumble…. When he gets it on film, the person who paid him to film the senator originally will pay him triple because of the ‘incident.’ Besides, there will be plenty of witnesses.”

He strolled with her out the door, and got a strange look from an attendant in the hall. Guardian (no longer was he Kyle Kennedy) gave the man a toothy grin, and absent mindedly sent some positive juju his way… the empathic ability of Kyle was extraordinary, but very simple. In a way it just made him very likable. The attendant’s reaction was instant, he smiled sheepishly and left Kyle alone, returning to his work… the look on his face said it all: Guardian had just made his day.

In the elevator, he continued.

“So it’s already all over the net, right? I heard it was leaked, about the reality show, and the sponsorship. At first people are going to think its all hype… maybe even think the little incident tomorrow will be staged. Seems reasonable, and intelligent… but when they see what I can do – when they see WHAT I do. Well then we’ll have to see how it works out.”

He considered a moment, and added: “I’ve a feeling that I’ll actually need to do superhero work. It’s not all smoke and mirrors.”

[maddy]

As they entered the elevator, with the boppy elevator music still going, Madelyne stepped close to Kyle - no, Guardian, now that he was kitted out and out and about - to delicately pick a stray bit of fluff off his shoulder with long red fingernails. Even with her stilettos, he was still a good deal taller than her, and she looked up at him with red lips slightly parted, a smouldering look in her eyes.

"It is on the 'net - I can show you a couple of the sites if you'd like. Mostly just your general run of the mill crackpot, conspiracy theorists who have nothing better to do with their time. But we'll have to be careful." She was still standing close enough to kiss him, if she'd wanted to, when they reached the roof with a 'ding' and the doors opened to reveal a clear sky and a pleasant day.

"Shall we?" She stepped back from him and moved out of the elevator. "So, Guardian. What are you going to show me today?" Madelyne walked over to the edge of the roof, leaning over with her hands rested on the waist high edging to look down to the street below. She was well aware of the fact that the posture drew attention to her backside, and she let herself adopt a slight look of nervousness at the height as she looked back to him. All for show, of course - Maddie had talents far beyond what you'd normally expect of a personal assistant.

[guardian]

Guardian picked it up alright. Felt the presence of the gorgeous red head inches away from him, felt the closeness, the possibilities. Then the door opened, and they walked into the sunlight. Again he was given a generous view of his assistant, one that would leave your average man at the mercy of his own whims… and though Kyle Kennedy knew himself to be a sucker for pretty legs/ass/breasts/face, he also was a player in his own right. Kyle knew he was a good looking, tall, dark, powerfully built man who oozed natural charisma and charm. Where that failed, his mutant power innately exuded additional ‘charisma’ for him. He walked up behind her, resisted the caveman urges, and looked over the edge with her.

"So, Guardian. What are you going to show me today?"

He turned to her, his smile elevated to grin status, and shrugged. “You know… the usual.”

Then he took a step back, and dove forward off the building. He plummeted like a rock, both arms straight out in front of him like a diver, only with his hands clenched into fists. The cape flapped behind him magnificently, his body a streak of blue and white as he rapidly gained speed. Then he turned upward, and flew through the air freely. His cape fluttered as if made for flying (it was, actually, included in the notes to the designers,) and his posture was very super-hero-esque.

He was a rocket… a human missile of devastating proportions flying through the sky with grace and terrible speed. Oddly, his ability seemed to take no obvious mental effort of any kind… he just appeared to be flying as a bird would. Of course, she only noticed this fact when he strafed by her, flying like a bat out of hell.

[maddy]

Perhaps the cape was a good idea after all. It did look good, fluttering behind him majestically as he flew through the air without any appearance of effort, and she longed for the day that she could do the same without fear of persecution, or that horrid cure being forced upon her. He was right - if people wanted the cure, that was their decision - but most people didn't understand mutantcy, would rather have everyone... the same. History was full of it.

She lost herself in that train of thought for a while, staring out over the city in front of them. Well, soon they'd have a new hero, a new mutant protector - no, guardian - to show them just what mutants could do to help, not harm, humanity. Madelyne wondered idly how the X-Men - and the Brotherhood - would react to him. Could be interesting. Could be dangerous. Could be fun. Her attention was drawn back to the man who whooshed past her again.

"Show off." She grinned in his direction, waiting for him to slow and come back to her. "I bet that's an amazing feeling." She meant being able to use his powers publicly, even having support from the various companies that had sponsored him, but anyone else would have thought that Maddie meant the feeling of flying through the air effortlessly.

[guardian]

Guardian looped around, and slowly hovered towards the rooftop, feet first. His smile was toothy, excited in an almost child-like way. It definitely looked like he was having a blast.

“It is… it’s more than amazing. I’ve only had a few opportunities to just outright fly like that. Now that I’m not worried about my public identity, or saving face… well, I used to drive into the middle of nowhere, put a ski mask on and fly around – punch over trees and stuff.” He grinned. “Now I can do all that in public. Probably shouldn’t punch the trees though.”

He leaned against the small half-wall, fearless of falling over, and looked down at her.

“Tonight we’ll get together and piece all the hardware into this thing. Sony instructions were never my specialty, but I’ve been given word that its very user friendly stuff. Real James Bond shit too. Figured we could grab some take-out, do it at my place?”

[maddy]

Laughing at the image of Guardian punching over trees, Maddie nodded in agreement. "No, I think you'll have to stick to punching over bad guys." His proposal for the evening sounded good, although the boxes of Sony gear had been delivered to her place, and they were quite large. Not that that would be a problem for Kyle, but what was the point in moving everything around?

"Why don't you come to my place, all the gear is there." She smiled, making a mental note to remember not to let her guard down just because it was her apartment they were meeting at. "I'm sure between us we'll be able to work it out." It was a subtle reminder that she'd worked for Sony before working for him.

Madelyne thought about it for a moment. "In fact, I don't have anything else planned for today, so we can do it anytime. It's up to you, though." It would be easier for her to stay careful if they were in her apartment sooner, rather than later, but she left it up to him. He was her boss, after all. That thought made the smile return. There was every possibility that Kyle had plans, too - though Maddie wondered if his curiosity would get the better of him. After all, he'd never actually been inside her apartment yet - she always met him at the door.

[guardian]

He pushed off the wall and strolled towards the entrance. “Sure, my plans are empty until tomorrow night. We'll go back to your place, work on the suit, order some take out, and hammer out a few more details.”

The suit felt good. The Cape felt good. The flying in public felt good... Maddie felt good. There was something comfortable about her, something familiar. Maybe it was the way she didn't question what he was – maybe it was the way she didn't question his plans, even encouraged them.

He held the door, letting her go in first.

Maybe it was that ass.

Wow.

[maddy]

As they re-entered the building, Maddie looked Kyle up and down with another grin. "I suppose you'll want to change, in case some of the components need to be installed from the inside." Which would leave him standing in her apartment in his underwear - not at all a bad thing in Maddie's mind, but the red-headed telekinetic didn't need to do anything to add to his ego.

"Or not, I don't mind." Apparently she couldn't resist. Pressing the button for her floor - two above his, though her apartment was smaller - she looked at the ceiling to avoid catching his eye. Fooling around with the boss, though occasionally fun, was not always the best idea. And she had a feeling that this was one boss - the first, though not the first person - who would get through to see her real self, if she let him get close.

Not that closeness was a prerequisite for sex. Still, he was her boss. What's a girl to do? Her eyes flicked back to him and she grinned again as she got out, wondering if he'd follow or whether he'd go change first. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"You know where to find me." Smiling, she turned and strode to her door. As she unlocked it and wandered in, she took off her jacket, hanging it over the back of a chair. Careful, Madelyne.