The Tempting of Tom Jones

Hyde Park, London.

 Two incredibly horrible sculptures portraying monsters are on the East side of the park. It's a rather slow day at the park, with the forecasts of a sunny day not being trusted at all by the citizens, but on this part of the park two major events are happening that we shall pay attention to.

 One of these events is happening with a young man named Tom Jones near the statues. The other is a company picnic being held, much to executive Lois Smith's displeasure, something like a hundred yards away from the statues. She has very useful mutant powers, that of hearing better and seeing farther than a regular human being. It helped her to climb to the top, but hearing those idiotic babbles and seeing with great details that they need to work out more often is a side effect she'd rather avoid. She is bored and wanders away and around until she hears it. It's almost a whisper:

 "Here goes nothing."

 She looks in that direction and sees the boy has each of his hands pressed against one of the statues. He seems to be making a huge effort, but nothing happens. He's starting to sweat a lot. His nose is starting to bleed. He finally falls on his knees, wipes the sweat off his forehead and seats there.

"Interesting" is her first thought after the scene. But then she sees something she will never forget. The boy grabs a pebble and whispers "gold". It instantly turns into a shining golden pebble. He looks at it again and says "Lithium". It becomes so and he throws it away.

 If it were a cartoon, her eyes would have become two "$$" or her tongue elongated thirty centimetres with saliva pouring out, but this is for real. She only smiles, thinking what a wonderful opportunity fate gave her. It's an even better opportunity than the one when she heard her boss' rather… unusual sounds when in private meetings with his secretary.

 A thin rain starts to fall and Tom gets up. His mother must be getting worried.

Your home, real Earth.

 "Back up a minute" is your natural reaction to what I just wrote. I don't blame you, really. He is not a costumed crimefighter and Lois doesn't use tight-fitting suit while blackmailing her superiors. But explanation about the statues are necessary. So, in a nutshell...

 Those were two trolls of a small group that kidnapped Tom and wanted to destroy the English economy. Did it happen? Of course not! But Tom was forced to turn two of them into gold. And then lead, of course. You can't put a solid gold statue smack dab in of the largest parks of London. Dr. McCoy was kind enough to drop them at Hyde Park (this is all in X-Factor #41-42 - Francisco). Tom's been feeling guilty, so he wants to turn 'em back to normal. Or better, what they normally were. They weren't normal, you know. They were trolls. That's not normal. But I digress…

 Now, back with the story.

Chelsea, London.

The neighbourhood Tom lives in is quiet, but there are still a few children out in the streets after a rainy day, playin soccer and having some fun. Old buildings without any charm are the home of the working classes; Tom lives in one o f them. Lois followed him since she first saw him, but didn't see where he entered. She approaches the band of young would-be soccer champions and asks:

 "You know a kid, about this tall, with glasses and bad hair?"

 "There's Tom Jones."

 "Ha-ha. Now really."

 "What's funny about that? Tom is the nerd who lives there" - he points a four-stories high building. "The 'babe magnet' lives on the third floor."

 "A ladies' man?"

 "He wishes."

 Interesting again. This is going to be easy. A mutant and lonesome nerd teenager. He's got "sucker" written all over. A little tantalising here with a spark of lust and... hello, golden bathtub!

 Easy.

 The Jones' residence, Chelsea.

 "So, son, how did it go?" - that's Ophelia Jones, Tom's... ah, you can figure it out by yourself.

 "Same as it always goes."

 "Oh, maybe next time."

 "You know I won't make it then either."

 "... Tom, I made lasagna."

 "Great. Chicken or…?"

 "Chicken. It's Ted's birthday today. Are you going to the club with your friends?"

 "I…"

 But before Tom can complete his sentence, a twelve year-old girl bursts into the house. She's obviously been crying.

 "I'm not hungry. I will be at my room."

 Ophelia goes upstairs and leaves Tom alone with his thoughts. It's probably about IT again. His mother isn't prejudiced against mutants, she never was. But the boys who play soccer are. They don't know he is one, nobody does, but Ellie, his sister, does. And she is terribly afraid they'll know. And worse, that they'll know she is one, too. Her powers haven't been triggered yet, but she is afraid. Insecure. Many questions trouble her young mind.

 Is she a mutant? Is she not? Will she get ugly? Undesirable? Weird? Bad? Insane? More than that, will she have zits?

 She's becoming a teenager...

The Underground Night-club, two miles North of Victoria Station.

 "Boys may come and boys may go, and that's alright to see. Experience has made me rich, and now they are after me. Because everybody is living in a material world, and I am a material girl. You know that we are living in a material world and I am a material girl…"

 Ted's party has an 80's motif. Ted obviously watched "The Wedding Singer" one too many times. Everybody seems to have put on his/hers most outdated clothes to come to this party. Tom himself has this huge shoulder-pads. Heck, Ted's even wearing a fake moustache. The girls are using all the colours they thought they'd never use and their mother's clothes they were ashamed still existed. But Tom isn't blending in. He's just leaning against the so-called "loser wall", where all those who cannot dance or get a girl rest assured of their coolness. Both the cases are Tom's, but he is self-conscious enough not to deceive himself with thinking he is "cool".

 Lois enters the night-club dressed like one of the guests. Weird hairdo. Excessive makeup. Pink shirt and extremely tight jeans. She walks up to Tom, hearing some whispering behind her back on her anatomic details. She used to hate them, but she's grown so used to it that she ignores them completely, even liking some. (She's a bitch - revolted Francisco)

 "So, you come here all the time?"

 "Nah, not really. It's Ted's birthday. But you know that, right?"

 "Sure. That's why I'm here" – nothing like overhearing conversations to know the right places to go and how to go.

 "And you are...?"

 "Lois. Listen, you wanna go somewhere else?"

 Tom looks around. Half the people who are there he doesn't know. The other half he'd rather he did not know. His reaction is the only one could expect.

 "Why not?"

 They get out of the night-club. She points him a black Mercedes.

 "That's my car."

 They enter. She kisses him. He does not resist a bit.

 "Easy, easy, easy", Lois thinks while her lips press his.

Convent Garden, the following day.

 The night was young, but Tom reached within the deepest recesses of him mind enough willpower - or stupidity, as he's calling it now - to obey his mother's curfew. He and Lois are talking right now and he just can't believe it all. She is talking, but he isn't listening. He is just staring. But when she says the word "mutant", he becomes all ears.

 "And I had to tell you, because... I-I don't know. Ever since I saw you I..."

 I'll cut the crap here. You and I know she's being the phonier then a four-dollar bill, so no need to fill this with her lies. But Tom's words are sincere and worthy of our attention.

 " God, I haven't told this to anyone else, really, except my mom and my sister, but I feel I can tell you. I'm a, I'm a mutant, too."

 "You're just saying that to make me…."

 "No, really."

 He reaches across the table and grabs her fork. As he mutters the word "silver", the fork immediately becomes... ah, you know it. It becomes 100% pure silver.

 "Do it again. I can't believe it!" – the shining of greed in her eyes are almost visible.

 She gives him her knife and he repeats the process. When he met the trolls, making what he just did would give him a headache, but he doesn't feel a thing anymore.

 "Oh, Tom", she says in the falsest of all her expressions, "We're rich. You can do this more and I can..."

 "No. I won't do that."

 "But, Tom think about it," she unbuttons her shirt a bit more, to give him a glimpse of things to come, just in case he accepts her offer. "We would be so happy with..."

 "No!"

 She grabs her hand strongly. All the seduction of her voice is gone and what comes out is the voice of a cold, greedy woman. The voice of the real Lois Smith.

 "Do it, little punk! I did not…"

 She is doing what the trolls did. Trying to force him into doing what he doesn't want to further her own agenda. Sure, she didn't plan on ruining the English economy, but she was no different. His heart broken by the reality of Lois Smith replacing his dreams, he says:

 "Gold."

 "What?!"

 She knows he says the name of the element he is turning objects into when does it. Would he do it with her? She releases him. He looks at her, shattered emotions begging to bubble over and kill her. She reaches for the fork and knife, hoping to get away with something from this misadventure, but he is faster than her and says:

 "Oxygen."

 She leaves.

 The Jones' residence, Chelsea.

 Tom is crushed. He just got home and went to his bedroom. There's still many hours of sunlight, but he shuts close the window and grabs a thick book that has "Biochemistry" written in bold letters on the cover. Doctor McCoy was kind enough to lend him some stuff "just to begin with" (a dozen Bible-sized, you guys out there know how Hank is). He opens the window and sees they are playing soccer outside. The sun is shining, a rainbow has appeared in the horizon after the rainy start the day had.

 He drops the book on his bed walks away.

Criminals

"So, how do I get books around here?"

"What the fuck you talkin' about, dude?"

"Books. Y'know, a bunch of paper put together with words in them. Stuff to make time pass faster. How do I get one?"

"Look, I see ya're a fucking newbie. It's like this: around here ya got two ways to make 'time pass faster' inside Pavilhon 9. The first one is you get a joint or something. the other one is da way ya get it."

"Which is...?"

"Ya fuck. Or ya let yarself be fucked. 't's really simple. You see that guy there? Little Pedro Bouça's the name. He's got a few links to the outside and a few guardsmen eating at his palm. You go to him and he lets you smoke the pot he gets from the outside. All ya gotta do is be his girlie man, get it?"

"Not interested."

"That ain't an option we're giving ya. I'm just telling ya the only thing ya can do to survive here. Ya fuck or ya're fucked."

This is horrible. I never thought I'd be at a place like this. I'm dressed in this rags and I'm not sure they're gonna last. This cell was built to house 10 prisoners, but I've got at least 25 colleagues. I better wash my face and... damn, the sink is broken. Goddamn country. We just kicked the president out of the government, they tell me. The second of October will go in history as the day we democratically kicked the ass of corruption.

Ha! I know better. That's why I'm here after all. My damned curiosity, sticking my nose where I shouldn't. There I was. working my ass off, typing stuff and signing papers and checking figures. Then I start asking questions and stuff and they tell me to get out. (There's an argument flourishing in the other cell. Vultures fighting for carrion.) Then I just start to really do my job and check those figures. Twenty thousand dollars for a obstetrics in a guy? Five hundred dollars for a toilet seat?

I start canceling this orders. I'm neck deep in this stuff, but I gotta end it. Then they tell me I shouldn't do that. That it isn't my business and I might even get some if I keep my mouth shut. But how can I keep my mouth shut? The president's brother just said he's corrupt. And showed proof that he's sane. How can I keep my mouth shut? Little old Lucas just can't keep his mouth shut.

I go from supervisor to supervisor (these words I hear from the fight are worrying me), but it just keeps getting dirtier and dirtier. I'm onto something when I find a bunch of guys who are normally in suits in the middle of a ritual, sitting half-naked in a circle. All sorts of weird shenanigans are hanging around. I trip and fall smack dab in the middle of the circle.

Two days and I'm arrested for white collar crimes. The judge has a third nipple, I remember from what I saw. But I can't say anything. Now I'm sent to Pavilhon 9 in Carandiru. There's only killers and rapists and both in one around here. I shouldn't be here. But that's what you get for messing with the wrong people.

"Get your stinking hand out of there, you pig!"

"Chill, man."

Pigs, vultures, dogs. These are not men, they are animals. It's debauchery, promiscuity and violence like they were beasts. But housed as they are, who can blame them? Little Pedro there probably lived in a single room with 7 junkie brothers and sluttish sisters with abusive, unemployed, alcoholic parents. They're a dime a dozen.

But I can swear that the fight has something to do with power. Little Pedro and, what's-his-name? Oh! Big Fernando! They're arguing over power. And this smell... I can never smell anything, but I swear I smell the stink of alcohol.

They're gonna throw it at the mattresses. Riot. That must be what they're fighting about. Damn! With some luck the cops end this quick. Commander Ubiratan has a strong pulse and sometimes I think he ought to be behind the bars instead of where he is, but his temper must be worth for getting this sort of thing over with fast.

Finally, he's here. And he's got a lot of guys with him. Don't think those assault weapons are necessary, but… well they're a shock troop. This is gonna be bloody, but ought to end without deaths and major injuries.

"You fucks! What the hell are you fighting about this time?!"

It ain't working, but I'm sure it will, but it ain't. Ok, so now the cell next to the Commander stopped a little. Ouch, that must've hurt. Maybe some of those fingers are broken. That was unnecessary, but since when does the Brazilian police force only use force when necessary?

Dogs! He has dogs! Why the hell does he have dogs?! Why are they bringing those monsters here? The cell blocks are starting to calm down. A twisted arm here and a few broken legs there and it's all set. Pretty soon I'll just have to deal with raping, drug dealing, forced homosexuality and… shit! In no time I'll have to deal with those things. (at least I get a bite of the child rapists…)

"Now naked! All you fucks just start stripping NOW!"

What is he doing? This is going beyond unnecessary violence. I expected violence, but this is wrong.

"Now, you idiot!"

Going, going. Geez, this is something I must've prayed once not to see. Tattoos where light doesn't go. Scars. Handicaps exposed fully. Fat guys. Skinny guys. Hairy guys. Ruthless criminals who shouldn't even be… damn!

They're firing, they're firing, they're firing. The dogs!…

"Ouch!"

My leg! It bit my leg. I hate blood. They aren't firing my way but pretty soon… dammit, it's coming my way now. Here. Little Pedro is good enough a wall.

"Oh, fuck!"

I'm trapped under Pedro's body. What's this? Blood. Brains. His head is licking on me. It's gross. Must turn my head and see something. There's Jose under the bed. He's gonna save himself. In two days he will be free and back to hug his son. Unemployed, living a miserable life under a bridge, but free. Your reform won't be successful and you'll end up here again or worse. Still, I envy you, Jose. You'll survive this. No. Ubiratan found him. He's pleading for you not to do it,

Ubiratan. Don't do it. Don't.

"NOOOOOO!!!"

It's dark. Too dark. I must open it and…

It's thorn open. I thorn it open. How? Am I mutant? No. Can't be. I'm too old for that. Let's see… magic? That ritual I fell on. Maybe… Couldn't be. Why today? Unless… Couldn't be. No way.

God, I'm dreadful. And where am I, anyway.

"No."

Bodybags. I opened a bodybag and I'm surrounded by bobybags. Dozens of them. I must… I will…

"ARGH!"

The wall. It's down. I did it with my bare hands. How? Shit, I'll think about it later. Right now I gotta get outta here. Ugh. Daylight. Maybe I can find some place…

"So, what's the official version of this?"

"Well, governor Fleury is saying it was a shootout, BK. But…"

"But?"

"Nobody got hurt except these guys. There's 112 bobybags here with lots of marks, but there ain't a single scratch in any of the troopers that got in. I say massacre."

"Well, if you ask me, they got what they deserved, JP. I mean, they were just crimin… fuck! Do you see that?!"

"Yeah who the hell would?"

"What should we do?"

"Right now, JP. Erase that '2'. If anyone asks, it was 111 bastards."

After a fight broke out among prisoners, military police stormed the Casa de Detenção's Pavilhon 9, an egregiously overcrowded housing unit. The police shock troops made little if any effort to negotiate with prisoners before invading. After gaining control of the situation, the police forced prisoners to strip naked and summarily executed dozens of them, many of whom were trying to hide under their beds. No police were injured by gunfire, undermining the official story that the police engaged in a "shootout."

The police commander (Ubiratan Guimarães), has since been elected to the São Paulo State Legislative Assembly. As a state legislator, he benefits from parliamentary immunity from prosecution, even for past crimes.

They were not innocents, but that is not an excuse. This was a loss as lamentable as the nexr. Remember what the poet said:

"Ask not for whom bell tolls; They toll for thee."