Love, Or Something Like It
Previously "The Spell of Love".
AN: Finally, I got off my butt and rewrote this! I wasn't very happy with the first one, so I changed it completely, and I think this one came out better; it's more of what I was looking to write. I still plan on doing a sequel to this, so you're eventually getting a double-dose! But now I must shut my trap and get on with the story, so, here you go!
Disclaimer: I own Alexia, but not the X-Men or Brotherhood. If you want to use Alexia, ask and I'll consider your request.
---------
Chapter One: Friday, February 4th
---------
The night air was cold, snow still sticking to the pavement of the sidewalks and the asphalt of the streets of Bayville, New York, even though it had fallen at least a week before. Daybreak was still hours away, yet the moon was already starting to lower itself to the edge of the horizon. Every house and building was dark, their inhabitants peacefully at rest. Everything was as it should be. Well, not everything.
A small figure raced through the streets, snow sticking to the boots on its feet, its breath coming from it in steamy, white puffs. A hole in the street caught the foot of the figure, and it tumbled to the ground, a wounded call escaping its mouth. It tried to pull itself up, but it was stuck to the ground by the heavy metal bracelets adorning its wrists, and the belt around its waist. "No...please, no..." it pleaded, reveling that it was a girl by its high-pitched voice.
The girl tugged at her wrists with her arms, her feet and legs squirming around, trying to pull her waist off the ground. But her attempts were useless, and she remained on the ground. She blew a strand of scraggly hair out of face, before looking around, trying to find the nearest source of help. The only thing she saw was a large mansion, some thirty yards or so in front of her, the house itself blocked by a large iron gate. Quickly taking in her options and surroundings, she gritted her teeth and forced her hands to go as thin as the would; she ripped them out of her bracelets, skin being scratched slightly, the wounds pouring a small amount of scarlet blood onto the ground. When her hand were free, she unbuckled her belt, sucking in her already-thin stomach to climb free of her metal captor.
The pain from her hands finally affecting her, the girl ran towards the gate, struggling to remove every piece of metal from her body. By the time she had reached the gate, a long trail of metal objects lay behind her. Her thin hands grasped the metal bars of the gate, and she screamed up at the mansion, "Help! Somebody...help me!" Her voice echoed through the sharp, cold darkness, but nothing beyond the gate moved or changed. "Nothing is going to help you now..."
The girl began to pant heavily, spinning around and slipping down into a sitting position at the foot of the gate. "What do you want with me?" she cried out, her voice raspy from the cold and her desperate screams for help. The voice spoke again, this time accompanied another figure walking out of the dark. "You, child, are the ultimate roadblock in my path to destroying my enemies. And if you want to live, you will do as you are told!"
The other figure held out a hand, and the gate behind the girl rattled, and she could hear the strain of the metal. Her breath quickened, and tears began falling down her face. "Stop! Stop it!" she screamed, the metallic noise growing louder. The other figure laughed deeply, before whispering a "No". The girl clutched her head, the blood from her hands mixing with her tears and streaking her face. Her skull burned and pounded, pain shooting up and down her body. A buildup of force and power was coursing through her body, and she turned her head up to the now-moonless sky. Her mouth opened and an un-earthly scream echoed through the night as her eyes changed from a deep blue-on-white to a bright, solid, glowing fuchsia. A glow started pouring from her body, not having a source but instead coming from all of the girl. It twisted and turned upward into the sky, before seemingly "exploding" outward into the town.
The glow passed over nearly every building, except for two places: an old, crumbling house about ten miles from the origin of the glow, and the mansion behind the girl. The glow seeped into the buildings, flowing through the entirety of the buildings, searching for victims. It found them in the form of the sleeping occupants, and the glow poured itself into the skin of some of the victims, tainting the blood of those it chose.
Outside, the girl's scream died away, her eyes losing the fuchsia glow and going back to their previous look. She slumped against the gate, now silent as the other figure had lowered their arm. The other figure started back into the darkness, calling back to the girl, "Thank you dear. It's nice to not get your hands dirty once in a while."
The girl looked behind to the mansion, where she could still see the glow through the windows. "What have I done?" she whispered, more tears flowing down her face as she stumbled over to a clump of bushes beside the gate, before falling over onto the ground. "What have I done?" She began to sob, her body bloody, bruised, and stretched out on the ground as if she was a rag doll. Her sobbing continued well into the night, until finally, it subsided as she fell unconscious, shock and pain taking over her.
---------
AN: 0.o Wow, that's different from before, no? Don't worry, this will still basically be the same story, but I did change some things around because I didn't like the way they were affecting the story. So, now that you've read the new version, review and tell me what you think!
-Rose
