Hey! This is the first chapter so far of my story I'm writing with my OC, Helen "Hela" Lindstrom. I'll try to make it the best I can, so I don't know how often I'll update it. I'll try my best to update as frequently as possible though, so I hope you enjoy :)
~Renee
Wiping her brow, the young woman in the field straightened her back and stood tall against the hot Georgian sun. She had been loading the bales of hay onto the wagon for the majority of the morning, hoping to finish her task before lunch, but she had been lagging all day. Ever since she had returned to her family farm last year, almost on this day, a dark sense of trepidation had wormed its way deep into her gut. Today, though, she felt even more anxious - she felt like today was … dangerous, without a better word to describe it.
The memories of what happened when she returned were not pleasant, to say the least. They certainly warranted a reason to be scared of it happening again. She pondered briefly what would have happened if she had stayed here all along instead of running the first chance she got. She probably would've been able to keep the people away from her family. They might've taken her to wherever they wanted her to go in the first place, but at least her brother and mother wouldn't be dead.
Blinking away the tears that had sprung in her eyes, she set herself to finish her work. The sun had almost reached its peak, and she still had a dozen more scattered bales to load. She sighed but picked up another bale to stack with the rest on the tall wagon.
After working for a quarter hour or so in the blazing sun, she finally placed the last bale in the wagon. As she looked up to survey the field, she spotted a cloud of dust in the distance. She wrinkled her brow and narrowed her eyes in an effort to spot the source, but it was still too far off for her to see. Warily, she climbed atop the tractor and started towards the barn. She kept sneaking glances out of the corner of her eye, but she was still too far to identify the source of the dust cloud.
As she got closer to the barn, she realized it was a car driving towards the house. A lance of icy fear shot through her chest and she clenched the wheel a little tighter, pressed the gas pedal a little harder. It was only one car, but she still remembered what one man with a gun could do.
Quickly parking the tractor to the side of the barn, she wrenched the keys from the engine and tossed them on the seat. She hopped down and scanned the yard urgently. Spotting the small mob of children, six of them, playing with the dogs while waiting for lunch like they always do, she hastened toward them.
"Anna Marie," she called to the oldest once she was close enough, "I want you to take your siblings and go unload the hay into the loft. I trust you know how to drive the tractor into the barn."
"Aw, Helen," Anna protested loudly, the other children groaning, "lunch is almost ready and we-" Helen pulled Anna closer to her, close enough that the none of the younger kids could hear what she said next.
"There's a car I didn't recognize coming down the road," Helen whispered quickly. "I want y'all to go put the hay in the loft. When yer done, you can play around in the barn, just make sure the other kids stay away from the house until one of the grownups comes and gets ya."
Anna Marie's eyes widened as the weight of Helen's words sunk in. She nodded her head mutely and lead the other children towards the tractor, the three dogs following without a care in the world.
Helen quickly continued to the house. As she neared, she saw that the car was parked in the drive, right next to her own beat-up Ford. Oddly enough, the car was a taxi cab, but that didn't mean anything to her. Whoever drove it here could just as easily shoot her family in the time it took her to ponder over it. She bounded up the back porch and threw open the screen door, almost running into the kitchen. She looked to Betty, who she knew would've been the first to see whoever was in the car.
"There's two men in the dining room," the grizzled woman said from the sink, turning toward her while wringing a soapy rag in her wrinkled hands. "They said they're with the CIA or government or somethin', not that it's a comfort to you. They wanted to talk to you, so I told 'em they could join us for lunch when you got back from the field."
"Where's Rosie and Jack?" Helen asked quickly.
"Jack's out in the pasture, checking on the cows, and Rosie's out in the garden somewhere. Neither of 'em know the men are here yet. What about the kids?"
"I told 'em to go put the hay in the loft." Helen started towards the dining room door but turned back to face Betty before she took more than a step. "I think you might wanna get the rifle, just in case."
Betty's face twisted a bit, her wrinkles crinkling up. "Whoever these men are," she started softly, coming over to rest her hand on Helen's shoulder, "they ain't the same as the one's that came a year ago."
"How would you know!?" Helen whispered hotly, wrenching her shoulder from the haggard woman's hand.
"They just-" Betty started before trying again. "You'll have to go talk to 'em to see for yourself." She glanced to the doorway, before meeting Helen's eyes again. She repeated herself gently, "They ain't the same."
Helen looked into Betty's age-creased face and searched for any form of doubt. Finding none, she sighed in defeat before nodding once and continued to the dining room.
True to Betty's word, there were two men sitting at the large table, seated near the window. They were both dressed formally, though one of them was dressed somewhat more poshly. The man in the tweed jacket had longer hair than his companion, and his smile seemed genuine. The other man had a leather jacket and immaculately styled hair. He smiled at Helen as well, but it didn't reach his eyes. She assessed that if they were actually feds, they weren't a kind she had ever seen or heard of before.
Eyes shifting between the two, Helen crossed her arms and stood at the other end of the table. She narrowed her eyes at their polite grins and watched the smiles drip from their faces.
"I heard you wanted ta talk to me," she drawled slowly, trying to be as menacing as she could. Betty might believe whatever these suits had to say, but Helen wouldn't take any other chances for her family to be hurt. If these men proved to be a threat, she would deal with them quickly, before they had a chance to call for backup or take a 'warning shot'.
The men glanced at each other before looking back at Helen. The one in tweed spoke first.
"Yes," he said in a British accent, standing and putting out a hand to shake. His associate rose and followed to stand next to him. Both of them were shorter than her towering 6'4". "My name is Charles Xavier, and this is my friend, Erik Lehnsherr." Helen glared at his hand like it was a snake poised to strike until Charles admitted defeat and lowered it. When Helen stayed silent, Charles spoke on.
"To put terribly bluntly, we'd like to ask a favor of you." Helen continued to scowl without speaking a word. "We've come regarding your… let's say, abilities.
Helen's indifferent expression immediately transformed into one rage. She flung out her hands, and with them, a green wall of mist knocked the men across the room where they landed with a crash. With a twist of her hands, the barrier turned into two separate foot-and-a-half length cones, the sharp end of each pointing at either man's forehead.
"Get. Out." Helen groundout forcefully. She was glad, suddenly, that no one else was near the house except for Betty. Helen knew that she would stay out of her way in dealing with the men, even if Betty had thought them different than the others.
Charles hastily put his first two fingers to his temple. "We aren't here to hurt you or you're family," Helen heard, though Charles' lips didn't move. Confusion filtered into her eyes, but she still kept the green daggers aimed at the men. "There are more people out there like you, like us. We're here to ask you to join us to stop a man like us that is trying to start a war."
Curiously, she let the daggers dissipate and lowered her hands, though she didn't let down her guard. "What do you mean?" she asked tensely.
"We don't know all the details," Charles said aloud, standing up, "But there is a man named Sebastian Shaw who is manipulating people in the government. He convinced one man in the government to put missiles in Turkey in order to make the United States' standing with Russia even more precarious."
"We already asked a few other mutants to join us," Erik said, speaking for the first time and in an indistinguishable accent, "they're at the CIA base in Langley. If you came with us, you could have a job with the CIA and meet people like us. You would be protected by the government there, and if anyone came to hurt you or your family, they would have to go through the CIA and us."
Silently, Helen eyed the two men and debated their offer. She barely knew these men, but they had abilities, they were freaks, just like her. They said there were more people like her, but at least one man like them was fighting on the other side. If this Sebastian Shaw was as much of a threat as they said, he could probably come for her family. Erik said that they would help protect them, though, and if Shaw was as powerful as they said, they could probably use as much, uh, 'special help' as they could get. Her decision was made in a matter of seconds.
"Fine," she barked, turning towards the kitchen. "I'll be ready in twenty minutes." She glanced back at the men's relieved faces. Rolling her eyes, she pushed through the door.
After explaining to a concerned Betty that she had agreed to go with the men to D.C. and that they wouldn't be staying for lunch, Betty launched herself at Helen and grappled her in a hug. Helen returned it gently, resting her head on the shorter woman's shoulder.
"I'll miss you," Betty admitted, still locked in an embrace.
"I know," Helen replied, "I'll miss you too. All of you."
Betty pulled away and smiled sadly. "Stay safe out there. The world is a dangerous place."
"You too," Helen said, pulling away completely now and heading towards the porch. "I'm gonna go get them kids an' tell 'em what's goin' on. Then I'll go pack an' I'll be gone in a quarter hour." Betty nodded and returned to finishing lunch for the people that were staying on the farm.
Helen jogged quickly to the barn. As soon as she walked through the wide doors, she was nearly bowled over by the children. She laughed heartily and brought them back to the house. She explained that she was leaving with the men to help the CIA.
"Are you gonna be a secret agent?" Johnny questioned in awe. Anna Marie and Jr expressed their interest at Helen's new position, too.
"Maybe," Helen chuckled at their innocent question. "The men are like me, and they said that there are more people like me that are already where I'm goin'."
"Are you gonna be a superhero!?" Grace asked excitedly, tugging one Helen's pant leg. "Are y'all gonna be like Captain America and the Howling Commandos!?"
Helen smiled down at the children's marveled expressions. She winked and said mysteriously, "Guess you'll have to find out." With that, she entered through the kitchen again, but this time turning up the stairs to her right. She went into her room and pulled a large, tan suitcase from the back of her closet.
After opening the suitcase on her bed, she turned and rifled through her closet looking for clothes that were presentable to the public. She didn't have much, but she grabbed a few flannel button-ups, a couple pairs of jeans, two t-shirts, and some underwear and bras. She didn't know exactly how long she would be gone, but she assumed that she could wash them all at some point or be provided with new clothes. Helen threw her old Chuck Taylors in too, the ones she bought a few years ago while she was still running around the country. She figured she might as well so they didn't rot in the back of her closet, and she didn't particularly want to wear her farm boots everywhere.
Heading to the bathroom, she grabbed her expensive shampoo and conditioner from under the sink, where she hid it from Anna Marie, Jane, and Grace. She swiped her toothbrush and toothpaste, too, as well as a hairbrush, a bar of soap, and a washcloth. Returning to her room, she stuffed her toiletries into her suitcase. Standing back and debating a minute, she grabbed her notebook and "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" and packed them in her bag as well.
As Helen left out the front door, the children followed her from where they had gathered in the dining room. She saw that Erik and Charles were standing by the open trunk of the taxi, but she paid them no mind as she kneeled in front of the children.
"Anna Marie," Helen told the oldest teen, "I expect you to be good to your parents and Rosie. Make sure these little troublemakers," she paused to softly tap Jr on the shoulder and grin, "don't give Betty a hard time."
"Yes, ma'am," the girl dutifully replied with a grin. She tackled Helen with a hug, prompting the other children to pile on and nearly knock the older girl over. Helen smiled and patted the nearest child's back.
"I'll be back before you know it," Helen said, rising and grabbing her suitcase from the porch. A chorus of goodbyes and see you soon's followed her as she set her bag in the trunk. She closed the trunk with a thud and rounded the taxi. She waved to the kids on the porch and slid into the passenger seat while Charles and Erik took the back.
Curiously, she looked to the driver of the taxi. A dark skinned man looked back to her, holding out his hand.
"I'm Armando, but you can call me Darwin."
"Helen Lindstrom," she replied, firmly clasping his hand. When she let go, Darwin turned to Charles.
"Where to next?"
Charles looked amusedly between Helen and Darwin before saying, "Richmond. There's a particularly powerful mutant named Alexander Summers in a detainment facility there."
"Hold on," Helen cut in, Darwin starting the taxi and putting it in drive, "I thought you were with the government. Why would you need to pick up some guy in the slammer?"
"Well," Charles started, "He admitted himself into solitary confinement."
"And why was that?" Darwin asked as he drove.
"He thought he was too dangerous to be around others," Charles said quietly.
"Why the hell are we picking him up if he's too dangerous to be around others!?" Helen shouted, turning around in her seat to glare at the seemingly stupid man. A sly smile was on his face.
"I believe I can help him control it," Charles replied pompously.
"And how would you do that?" Helen asked sarcastically, keeping up with the interrogation. She regretted not asking these questions before she got in the car with the idiot.
"I will be able to see into his mind," Charles' voice sounded, though his lips didn't move. Helen was starting to get creeped out when he did that, but she guessed that it was part of his ability. She gauged that it was a satisfactory answer to her question, but continued pestering Charles.
"Is that all you can do? 'See' into folks' head an' tell 'em stuff all pretentiously?" Helen snarked. Suddenly, she turned and pointed an accusatory finger at Erik. "And what about you, Lehnsherr? You his bodyguard or something? Just here to look like you'll break someone's face if they mess with us?"
All the men in the car chuckled at that to various degrees, Charles near falling on the floor from laughing so hard. Helen grumbled a little bit and turned back in her seat, not finding her questions all that funny, and decided that the pumpkin field they were passing was more interesting that Charles guffaws. She solemnly realized that they were passing her neighbor's field and that this is the farthest she's traveled from her home in over a year. A sudden unease settled over her as she remembered how she had felt this morning while she was out in the field. Helen thought to herself that things could still go terribly wrong - this Shaw character could come for her or her family, and so could those other people from before. They might even come for these other mutants, as Erik had called them.
She was knocked out of her dark reminiscing by Charles' answer to her earlier question. "I can do more than 'pretentiously' converse with people in their own minds," Charles said. "I can also control them. Though," he added, furrowing his brows when you looked back to face him, "I have trouble doing more that grazing your mind. I suppose it must be part of your mutation." Helen shrugged cluelessly at him. She had no idea why he wouldn't be able to read her mind if he could read the minds of other mutants. Before she could give a cynical retort, Erik interrupted her with his response.
"As to your question as of why I'm here, I met Charles while I was searching for Shaw myself. I assumed it would be easier to find him if we worked together. I also know the most about Shaw." Both Helen and Darwin could sense a heavy undertone in Erik's voice when he spoke the last part, but they both figured that if he wanted them to know about it, he would tell them.
To change the topic, Darwin asked, "So what can you do, man?" He eyed Erik in the rearview mirror. Erik's face lightened somewhat as he replied.
"I can control metal." Charles chuckled a little bit. Both Erik and Helen looked at him weirdly with his goofy reaction to Erik's statement.
"I'll say," Charles said after sobering himself somewhat. "You completely destroyed a yacht with its anchor. I don't think there was anything salvageable from it when you were done." A prideful smirk snuck its way onto Erik's face. Helen rolled her eyes as she turned in her seat to face forward again.
"What about you, Helen, what can you do?" Darwin asked after a small bout of silence. Helen sighed before she responded.
"It's complicated," she said, still staring out the windshield, even when she felt the men's curious eyes on her. "If there are other people that are gonna come with us, I'd rather wait for 'em to all be in one place. It's hard to explain to people and I only wanna explain it once."
"That's fair," Darwin said. "You know, I think I'll wait, too. Then everyone can show off at once. It'll be like show and tell in elementary school."
"Yeah," Helen agreed. A small smile appeared on her face at the image Darwin created in her mind. She was still tense around these people, and about the fact that she would be meeting with even more people, but they were like her. Mutants, freaks, misfits, whatever they decided to call themselves. They can understand what she's been through with her having to divulge her whole life story. And, though she loved her family and being with them, Helen though she might be able to find a place where she belongs.
The rest of the trip to Richmond consisted of the men bantering back and forth. Helen occasionally joined in, but she mostly stared out the windows at the scenes rushing past. Helen was gruff, to the point. She didn't really see the point with talking about trivial things when it's so much easier to just say only what someone needs to know. She'd lived that way her whole life, and it had mostly helped her keep her abilities a secret. She supposed she could divulge herself to talk about nonessential topics, though, now that she was traveling with people that had hidden part of themselves their whole life, too.
When they arrived at the facility in Richmond, with navigational support from Charles, they had to drive through a checkpoint to get in the parking lot. Charles again worked one of his tricks and the guard waved them ahead, saying that he would get the warden right away to start the paperwork. Darwin parked the car near one of the entrances, and Charles and Erik got out of the car with an assurance that they would be out in fifteen minutes with Summers. That left Darwin and Helen all alone in the car and in a somewhat awkward silence.
"So…" Darwin started after a few minutes of silence. "Tell me about your family. Who were those kids that trampled you on your way out?"
"Uh," Helen stammered, "The oldest was Anna Marie. Then there was Johnny, Grace, Jane, Jack Jr, and Dave."
"Big family," he observed with a smile. "Are they all your siblings?"
"Yep," Helen lied confidently. Though she might feel like she could find a place with these people, they didn't really need to know everything about her family. That was her own business. She might share it when she was a little more comfortable around them.
"They must be a handful," Darwin chuckled. "I'm an only child myself, but one of my friends has three brothers and five sisters. His house is always a disaster area, and he's the oldest so he's always put in charge of keeping them under control. He never can, but he tries."
"Yeah," Helen agreed, thinking about her family. She could share a little bit of the complicated truth. Those kids were basically her siblings, and that's all that really mattered. "I'm the oldest, but none of my, uh, siblings ever really make too much trouble. They act pretty immature sometimes, but that's because the oldest is barely fifteen, and the youngest ain't more that a few months over nine."
"How old are you, then?" Darwin innocently asked. He obviously didn't know it was a loaded question, so she figured she'd lie a little more until she felt like explaining it more.
"I'm eighteen now, but I'll be nineteen in a few months," Helen replied falsely. Well, it was partly true. She looked eighteen, but it was a good enough answer for Darwin, who nodded his head.
"I'm twenty-four now, my birthday was a few weeks ago," Darwin explained. Helen nodded back, and they fell back into silence, but this one was much more comfortable for the both of them. And, it was much shorter, seeing as Charles and Erik took this time to walk out of the compound with one Alexander Summers.