The teacher walked into the classroom. Being a substitute was always a
tough job, and apparently this class had some of the worst of them. She
looked around. They didn't look like such a bad bunch really. Well, there
was that punk looking child over there. She'd watch out for her. She pulled
out the roll and sat down and read the first name of the list. "Miranda
Althea?"
"Yes," came a voice from the corner. The teacher looked up to see who had answered. Miranda turned out to be sitting in the furthest corner. There was nothing remarkable about her really. She couldn't even see the girl's face with all that hair hanging down as she wrote on her notepad.
Looking back to the roll she called the next name.
Miranda continued to write. There was a plus to being and 'A.' It meant she could tune out as soon as the first name was called. Which was lucky, because she had more important things to think of in class than, well, class.
This classroom was always dark, and Miranda couldn't deal with that very well. Not that she hated the darkness. No, she always loved the darkness. But if there were people around, it meant she had to concentrate. And there was only so much she could concentrate before she wanted to run screaming from the room. And that wouldn't make a wonderful impression. So she wrote it again and again on the paper before her. 'Stay visible, stay visible, stay visible.' that was the big plan. Don't disappear into the shadows. No matter how tempting it is, and how much you can feel the shadows pulling you to join them and become darkness, and shut up! This is not helping, Miranda!
With a sigh she look up at the clock. Not long. Just focus. She brushed back her mane of dark hair and wished her mutant power was something useful. Like the power to make hair bands appear out of thin air. Or the power to be remotely normal, she added rather bitterly and then rolled her eyes. She should be used to this by now. It had been what? 6 months? She was, by now, quite good at the blending into shadow. Actually, she was very good at that. In the deep daytime shadows she was well camouflaged, maybe just a blur of something there. But at night she was invisible unless she wanted to be seen. But that was being the problem. The wanting to be seen part. For all the greatness of this 'invisibility' for use of a better word, she was having a hard time in staying visible whenever there was darkness near by. It was not a good thing.
The bell rang and Miranda stood. "Thank the Gods," she said as she picked up her books.
The girl who sat in front, Tara, turned and smiled brightly at her. "You always seem to completely tune out in this class, Mir. What's up with that?"
Miranda shrugged. "It's boring?" she suggested brightly and then made a face. "And don't call me Mir."
Tara laughed. "Randa? Irand?"
Miranda snorted. "Yes. Definitely Irand." She nodded toward the door. "Come on, let go shopping."
Tara raised an eyebrow. "How very girly of you." Then she sighed dramatically and leaned on Miranda's shoulder. "The lighting there does nothing for my complexion."
This coming from Tara, dream queen of the high school, seventeen year old blonde goddess. Miranda couldn't imagine any light not looking go with her. Miranda shrugged. "I kind of like the lighting," she said as they walked out of the classroom together.
Tara laughed. "Freak."
Miranda nodded determinedly. "Yes, I am."
*
Three hours later, they had finished trolling the mall and Tara had gone home. Miranda was in no mood to go home. Because now I was dark out and her whole body tingled with it. It made her feel like a hunter, slipping in and out of shadow like some immortal soul stealer from one of her vampire books. Although, she had no intention of killing anyone. Hell, Miranda couldn't even kill a spider without angsting over it. (A fact with he father thought with endlessly hilarious.)
But Miranda did enjoy to stalk. She could always pretend they were helpless victims that she was going to mercilessly take down! Even if she'd just follow them for a few blocks before going home to watch some tv. Ah, the exciting life of a mutant. It was times like this that she wished she had told some of her friends, or her father, or, well, anyone! Just to share this would have been wonderful, but she couldn't know how they'd react.
Slowly Miranda walked though the shadows and found tonight's 'target'. He was a big guy, and she certainly didn't want to show herself. He could have very easily killed her if he felt that was inclined. He was walking along the street in a way that said mess with 'me and you'll be very sorry.' Miranda didn't doubt it and didn't want to test the theory. Biting her lip and smiling she crept forward, loving the feeling of secrecy around her. For one moment she thought he knew she was there, but knew she must have imagined it.
She had been following for almost a block when she noticed them. There were two men across the street and they were watching the man she was following. Why? She was focusing on them now and she saw a flash of metal on one of them. She stopped walking. A gun? Was that a gun? Miranda's heart raced. This was her neighbourhood! People didn't just have guns! But then, these people weren't locals. They were dressed too.military? Something like that.
And now they were closing in on the man, and her stomach tensed. They were going to attack him. She had to warn him! She sped up, breaking into a run to close the distance between them. But she was too late, because those men were on him. And then right before her eyes, someone happened she never would have guessed. Blades shot out from his hands. Blades! Like.claws or something!
She was near when he stabbed the first man and threw him like a rag doll, and yet she kept running toward him, not even knowing why.
The man had spun and driven those blades through the second man she ran toward him. she knew she wasn't visible and forced herself to separate from the darkness, feeling it happen with almost a painful tear. With a roar the man pulled the claws from the now dead man and spun on Miranda. She didn't even have a chance to react before he yelled and thrust one of those clawed hands through her stomach. Miranda gasped and her eyes went wide. Looking down slowly she saw the claws through her stomach and noticed, as if from a distance, that blood was staining her pale shirt. She looked back up at the man who was now staring at her in horror.
With a whimper she slipped backwards and barely felt the arm that cradled her back before she hit the cement. There was a sharp rip in her stomach and she filched against it, another whimper escaping her lips.
"It's okay," she heard him say, his voice gruff, but also worried. "Just.hold on, kid."
Miranda closed her eyes. She couldn't keep them open any more. She was only vaguely aware that he had picked her up and was running. But it was too hard to remember what she was supposed to be doing. Hold on? Hold.? Yeah, sure. Hold on.
*
A/N- Chapter one down. ^_^ Next chapter, Miranda meets the other mutants.
"Yes," came a voice from the corner. The teacher looked up to see who had answered. Miranda turned out to be sitting in the furthest corner. There was nothing remarkable about her really. She couldn't even see the girl's face with all that hair hanging down as she wrote on her notepad.
Looking back to the roll she called the next name.
Miranda continued to write. There was a plus to being and 'A.' It meant she could tune out as soon as the first name was called. Which was lucky, because she had more important things to think of in class than, well, class.
This classroom was always dark, and Miranda couldn't deal with that very well. Not that she hated the darkness. No, she always loved the darkness. But if there were people around, it meant she had to concentrate. And there was only so much she could concentrate before she wanted to run screaming from the room. And that wouldn't make a wonderful impression. So she wrote it again and again on the paper before her. 'Stay visible, stay visible, stay visible.' that was the big plan. Don't disappear into the shadows. No matter how tempting it is, and how much you can feel the shadows pulling you to join them and become darkness, and shut up! This is not helping, Miranda!
With a sigh she look up at the clock. Not long. Just focus. She brushed back her mane of dark hair and wished her mutant power was something useful. Like the power to make hair bands appear out of thin air. Or the power to be remotely normal, she added rather bitterly and then rolled her eyes. She should be used to this by now. It had been what? 6 months? She was, by now, quite good at the blending into shadow. Actually, she was very good at that. In the deep daytime shadows she was well camouflaged, maybe just a blur of something there. But at night she was invisible unless she wanted to be seen. But that was being the problem. The wanting to be seen part. For all the greatness of this 'invisibility' for use of a better word, she was having a hard time in staying visible whenever there was darkness near by. It was not a good thing.
The bell rang and Miranda stood. "Thank the Gods," she said as she picked up her books.
The girl who sat in front, Tara, turned and smiled brightly at her. "You always seem to completely tune out in this class, Mir. What's up with that?"
Miranda shrugged. "It's boring?" she suggested brightly and then made a face. "And don't call me Mir."
Tara laughed. "Randa? Irand?"
Miranda snorted. "Yes. Definitely Irand." She nodded toward the door. "Come on, let go shopping."
Tara raised an eyebrow. "How very girly of you." Then she sighed dramatically and leaned on Miranda's shoulder. "The lighting there does nothing for my complexion."
This coming from Tara, dream queen of the high school, seventeen year old blonde goddess. Miranda couldn't imagine any light not looking go with her. Miranda shrugged. "I kind of like the lighting," she said as they walked out of the classroom together.
Tara laughed. "Freak."
Miranda nodded determinedly. "Yes, I am."
*
Three hours later, they had finished trolling the mall and Tara had gone home. Miranda was in no mood to go home. Because now I was dark out and her whole body tingled with it. It made her feel like a hunter, slipping in and out of shadow like some immortal soul stealer from one of her vampire books. Although, she had no intention of killing anyone. Hell, Miranda couldn't even kill a spider without angsting over it. (A fact with he father thought with endlessly hilarious.)
But Miranda did enjoy to stalk. She could always pretend they were helpless victims that she was going to mercilessly take down! Even if she'd just follow them for a few blocks before going home to watch some tv. Ah, the exciting life of a mutant. It was times like this that she wished she had told some of her friends, or her father, or, well, anyone! Just to share this would have been wonderful, but she couldn't know how they'd react.
Slowly Miranda walked though the shadows and found tonight's 'target'. He was a big guy, and she certainly didn't want to show herself. He could have very easily killed her if he felt that was inclined. He was walking along the street in a way that said mess with 'me and you'll be very sorry.' Miranda didn't doubt it and didn't want to test the theory. Biting her lip and smiling she crept forward, loving the feeling of secrecy around her. For one moment she thought he knew she was there, but knew she must have imagined it.
She had been following for almost a block when she noticed them. There were two men across the street and they were watching the man she was following. Why? She was focusing on them now and she saw a flash of metal on one of them. She stopped walking. A gun? Was that a gun? Miranda's heart raced. This was her neighbourhood! People didn't just have guns! But then, these people weren't locals. They were dressed too.military? Something like that.
And now they were closing in on the man, and her stomach tensed. They were going to attack him. She had to warn him! She sped up, breaking into a run to close the distance between them. But she was too late, because those men were on him. And then right before her eyes, someone happened she never would have guessed. Blades shot out from his hands. Blades! Like.claws or something!
She was near when he stabbed the first man and threw him like a rag doll, and yet she kept running toward him, not even knowing why.
The man had spun and driven those blades through the second man she ran toward him. she knew she wasn't visible and forced herself to separate from the darkness, feeling it happen with almost a painful tear. With a roar the man pulled the claws from the now dead man and spun on Miranda. She didn't even have a chance to react before he yelled and thrust one of those clawed hands through her stomach. Miranda gasped and her eyes went wide. Looking down slowly she saw the claws through her stomach and noticed, as if from a distance, that blood was staining her pale shirt. She looked back up at the man who was now staring at her in horror.
With a whimper she slipped backwards and barely felt the arm that cradled her back before she hit the cement. There was a sharp rip in her stomach and she filched against it, another whimper escaping her lips.
"It's okay," she heard him say, his voice gruff, but also worried. "Just.hold on, kid."
Miranda closed her eyes. She couldn't keep them open any more. She was only vaguely aware that he had picked her up and was running. But it was too hard to remember what she was supposed to be doing. Hold on? Hold.? Yeah, sure. Hold on.
*
A/N- Chapter one down. ^_^ Next chapter, Miranda meets the other mutants.