Summary: A young woman gifted with the power of avian transformation comes to New York looking for help against a mutual enemy. Unfortunately, her attitude doesn't help matters much with potential allies and she finds that learning to be human is harder than people make it sound.
Warning: N/A
Disclaimer: I don't own Fantastic Four, X-Men or anything else familiar. I own plot, Haribon, and any other OCs that may appear.
I hope you enjoy this! It's really just something to get my brain to feel like writing again, and I liked the idea of this. Doesn't take place in any particular universe, so won't match up with movie plots, TV plots, or comic plots. AU.
Please review if read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
The file on his lap told him all needed to know. The mutant was becoming a nuisance to his project, and if she refused to cooperate, then there was no more need for her safety to be a concern. Her power was interesting, but no better than others, and worse than a few individuals that currently occupied his thoughts. Left alone she could be dangerous – elimination was the only acceptable option.
Haribon swept through the air, flapping frantically against the wind currents. In her panic, the common sense and knowledge of the sky failed her entirely and she became a prey to her emotions – ironic, being a killing machine usually put her solidly in the 'predator' category. Out of her element, her blue-gray eyes scanned the land she had been chased into, and found herself in what appeared to a bay, a city's skyline rising before her.
"New York," she realized. "A long way from home," was the second regretful thought, but her eagle mind brushed it aside in the interests of self-preservation. As the mini, AI-controlled jet fired another laser blast her way, Haribon made a sharp dive and plunged towards the water. Midway through the imminent collision with water, her brown-white feathers shimmered before changing into that of the streaked shearwater, yellow claws and bluish-gray bill transforming into pink legs and pale bill. Hitting the water with greater force than she meant to, Haribon dove deep into the waters of the Hudson Bay and propelled herself forward with her wings, resisting the bird's urge to catch passing fish as she dodged blasts from the laser, the intense heat gone in the water's depths.
Not knowing where she was going, or even if she was going to survive being underwater for so long in her exhausted state, she shivered as the shadow of a boat passed over her. Shooting back up into the sky after she crossed underneath it, Haribon gasped for air as she resumed her eagle state and looked frantically for her pursuer. To her amazement, it was gone.
"Smashed into the boat? No…maybe it thought I drowned?" she wondered, knowing she had just barely avoided suffocating, and wondering if the programmed AI assumed she hadn't survived. "Lucky me," she mused, her eagle eyes searching for somewhere to rest. Finding a tree near the shore, she lighted gratefully upon the branch and closed her eyes, ready for some well-deserved rest.
Avian transformations – a Philippine Eagle and a Streaked Shearwater, land and water birds respectively – had become part of Haribon's life since a small girl, so much so that she had abandoned the use of her human name and almost never transformed into her human form. She had found being a bird of prey placed her squarely in a category preferable to that of most human beings, and there was no reason for her to worry about human affairs.
Well, not anymore, at least.
At a loss for what to do with herself now, not waking until late morning the next day, Haribon muttered to herself in her mind. She had grown used to having human company, even if she scorned her human body, and was unable to communicate with other birds, no matter which species she was. Looking around, her eyes narrowed to slits when she saw a young man strolling down the shore, whistling to himself and looking entirely too smug for a human. After another second, she fluffed in astonishment when she recognized him – Johnny Storm, one of the Fantastic Four.
"Could he help? I mean, they haven't fought him before…I don't know." She considered the idea while she watched him. She had heard about the Human Torch, and he wasn't on her personal 'Top Ten Humans Most Admired' list; not even in the top twenty, for that matter. But, he was the brother to Susan Storm, who was married to Reed Richards, the genius scientist.
Having made up her mind, Haribon fluffed even further for a moment before gliding off her perch towards the young man.
Seeing a giant bird coming towards him – the Philippine Eagle having a wingspan of almost seven feet – didn't have the best effect on Johnny. As a matter of fact, it freaked the hell out of him and he turned and ran the other way. It was only when a voice entered his head that he paused, hoping he was insane.
"Would you stop running! I'm not going to eat you."
"Huh?" he managed dumbly. His experiences since becoming the Human Torch – being the buddy of Spider-Man for one – had broadened his ideas and helped to accept more easily strange occurrences, but this was too much. The bird – eagle – landed on the post next to him, observing him coolly and, he thought, with a bit of irritation.
"If you're done being an idiot, I need your help."
Yep, definite irritation.
"What are you?" he demanded, but was ignored as the bird ruffled its feathers indignantly.
"An eagle, what does it look like? A Philippine Eagle, to be precise. Actually, that's not – whatever. I'll explain, but I need to talk to your brother-in-law first. I need help, and I ended up here, so might as well try the Fantastic Four, right?"
"A sarcastic eagle…I thought I'd seen it all," Johnny muttered, pulling his windbreaker around him more. Maybe the bird was a mutant like other he had met – a girl with the powers of transformation, maybe, since the voice was definitely female – but he decided to let Reed deal with it. He may have matured, but Johnny did not go looking for unnecessary work.
"What was that?" Haribon demanded, staring sharply at him in a way only a bird can.
"Come on – don't you know where the Baxter Building is?" he asked, turning around to head back to the city section of main Manhattan.
"If I did, I would have gone there directly, don'tcha think?"
"Whatever, just try not to be too conspicuous," he grumbled, before realizing the bird had soared high into the sky above the buildings, able to see him clearly with vision keener than humans. "This is not gong to be a good day," he sighed.
"Johnny, what are you doing here?" Sue asked in surprise, as her brother stalked into the suite.
"Is Reed here?" he asked in aggravation, keeping an eye on the sky outside.
"Yes, he's in the lab again – what's the matter?" his sister demanded, hands on her hips in typical big-sister fashion. "Did you do something again?"
"Someone wants to talk to him," the young man said stiffly, moving towards a window and sliding the glass pane wide open.
"Why are you opening a window, bugs will…get…in…" The Invisible Woman trailed off as the eagle glided through the window, barely fitting, and settled on the back of a chair, rustling as if making itself comfortable. "What on earth…"
"It's very complicated. I think it's human…or something…"
"I can hear what you're saying, and I don't think it's very flattering. I'm a 'she', not an it, thank you very much," the bird snapped, staring once more at Johnny. Sue grasped the situation slightly more quickly than her brother had, also getting a better idea of what the bird was at the same moment.
"And you need to talk to my husband?" she asked, and the bird turned it's stare to her.
"Yes. It's important. I would have gone to someone else, but I ended up here."
"I'll go get him, then," Sue said, a bit faintly. Being told off by a giant bird wasn't the easiest thing to deal with, but she handled it with characteristic grace as she headed toward the lab.
"There's no reason to be so rude to my sister," Johnny informed the bird, who – he swear – shrugged.
"There's no reason for me to be called an 'it'," she replied calmly, taking the time to preen a bit until Sue returned, a curious Reed in tow. The man approached Haribon cautiously, eyeing the bird with amazement.
"I'm Reed Richards," he introduced himself, and she stopped fixing her wing to twist her head into what looked like an uncomfortable angle, and stared at him.
"Pleased to meet you. Haribon."
"A Philippine Eagle – Haribon is the nickname for it. Very clever," he said, and she was momentarily stunned. No one had realized what her name was until now, and it amused her to no end.
"I'm impressed, Mr. Richards! I'm sure you're trying to guess what I am, correct?" she asked, but he shook his head.
"The only logical conclusion is that you're able to transform into a bird," Richards replied calmly, and she performed the equivalent of a nod.
"Avian transformation – a Philippine Eagle or Streaked Shearwater. I prefer a bird form," Haribon told him, projecting her thoughts so that the siblings also heard what she told him.
"To your human one, you mean?" he guessed, a bit surprised. The eagle merely eyed him calmly, head twitching briefly. "Well, to get down to business, why do you need our help?" Reed continued, taking a seat facing the eagle.
"My mutation isn't like yours, or Spider-Man's," Haribon began calmly. "It's in my genetics. Technically, I'm a mutant like one of the X-Men, for example. When I'm in this form, I acquire some sort of telepathy so I can still communicate with humans – although why I can, I have no idea. It's convenient, though."
"I'm sure it is," the man agreed, as Sue took a seat next to him. Johnny remained standing, clearly ill at ease with the mutant.
"To get to the point, I became involved in experiments concerning DNA and genetic testing for mutations while still in the womb," she continued calmly, as if there was nothing strange about this. "Another commodity for the man performing the experiments. I was also useful for communication, as my telepathy has quite a good range Unfortunately, I began to ask too many questions concerning his methods, or so I assume. He decided to terminate the project, including all former assets."
"Which would mean you as well," Sue guessed, and the bird blinked.
"Correct."
"Haribon, if I can ask, how old are you – in human years?" Reed added quickly. The more he knew about the human mind he was dealing with, the better he would be able to deal with the situation.
"Let me think…it's been quite some time since I last changed into the human form…I believe I'm twenty-one. Yes, twenty-one is correct," she replied, and the husband and wife couldn't help but exchange a disbelieving look. The mutant spoke as if her original person was just another form to change into, and an inconvenient one at that.
"Who is the person who decided to kill you?" Sue asked, leaning forward slightly.
"Oh, not just me. At least three other mutants that I know of were killed. They almost got me, I was just lucky. I believe his name is familiar to you, although I do not believe you have encountered him. Mr. Sinister?"
"Oh, shit," Johnny groaned, lowering himself into a chair. The three members sat in somber silence for a long moment, while Haribon merely began to adjust her feathers again. If they couldn't help, she'd merely move on to the X-Men, who had proved successful before. No great loss on her part.
"You're correct in saying we haven't fought him before," Reed said finally, looking a great deal less curious than he had before. "However, thanks to our discussions with Professor Xavier and others, we do have quite a bit of knowledge concerning him."
"That's a nice way of saying you know about him, but you can't do anything," Haribon concluded, shifting as if to move to the window ledge. "I appreciate you listening."
"I didn't say we wouldn't do anything!" Reed interrupted her hastily, while Sue sighed. A battle of the scientists intrigued Reed, although the team had long-ago agreed to leave villains like Sinister to a team better-equipped to deal with his powers. "The least we can do is escort you to the Institute. I'm sure something can be decided there."
"I can take care of myself quite well, thank you all the same," she said, obviously declining the offer. "Flight is preferable."
"So is an alliance," Sue began, suddenly breaking into the conversation. The eagle twisted its head once more to stare at her, this time not quite so mad-looking.
"What are you proposing?"
"We've worked with the X-Men before," she said promptly, and the bird's jerk of the head indicated she already knew that. "If Mr. Sinister is up to more experiments with mutants, he's everyone's concern. We can't just hand off the responsibility," she continued, shooting a warning glance at her brother, whose mouth was open to protest.
"If I understand correctly, you're saying that you're going to become involved simply because of a sense of civic duty?" Haribon asked in disbelief, feathers ruffling.
"Wouldn't you?" Sue demanded.
"No."
"Where's Ben?" Reed asked, interrupting the staring contest between woman and bird.
"Right here. What the hell is this?" the Thing demanded, starting as the eagle fixed her gaze on him. The sharp eyes narrowed at the question, but Reed drew his friend aside quickly before any telepathy was exchanged between the two. After a few long minutes, Ben winced – obviously, Reed had gotten to Sue's decision to get involved.
"Interesting group you have here," Haribon remarked to Johnny, turning to look at him. He blinked in surprise, and then shrugged.
"Yeah, it's anything but boring. I guess," he said with a shrug, and the eagle cocked its head at him for a moment, peering at him sharply before returning its gaze to the others. "You can't change into anything less conspicuous?" he asked suddenly, and the eagle stared at him.
"I happen to like this. And I don't happen to have anything else, other than the Shearwater, which is not a seagull," she informed him sharply, having sensed the next question.
"What about your human form?" Johnny pressed, curious as to what a telepathic bird would look like as the human she was. Haribon, however, ruffled her feathers in what seemed to be an eagle version of a snort before ignoring him. The three older adults had apparently finished their conversation, and Reed didn't look too happy.
"We can't all leave – it's just too dangerous to leave the building empty like that," Reed began, and Johnny suddenly had a feeling what was coming.
"Oh, no way!"
"Since you want to fly, flight it'll be," Reed continued, speaking to Haribon. "Johnny will accompany you to the Institute – and he's going to stay and help if they decide to. Understand?" he added, glancing at the young man. Ben shrugged sympathetically, but it was obvious neither he nor Sue was going to do anything about it.
"We should be going then," the eagle decided, turning towards the window. "I appreciate the help, Mr. Richards. I'm sure we'll see each other again. Take care." With that, she swept from the room without a backwards glance to see if Johnny was following.
"If Sinister is involved, it'll be messy," Reed explained, heading off the argument he knew was coming. "And who knows what resources he has if he was doing experiments. The best thing we can do is let the others know, so be sure to let us know what's going on as soon as you can."
"Yeah, I'll just develop telepathic powers too," the Human Torch grumbled, but knew there was no other feasible option at the moment. "Flame on!" he shouted, leaping from the window. He fell for a split-second before launching into the air and streaking after the eagle, which seemed to take his approach as calmly as she observed a bug.
Sorry for the long last paragraph! Please review.