The small girl stared up at the looming mansion in front of her. It made her feel... tiny. But not small. There was something comforting about the building in front of her, as intimidating as it was. A comforting strength, her mind supplied.
"Hey, kid. You coming?" Logan called. The girl turned, facing the man in front of her. She walked and came to stand beside him. He smiled and ruffled her hair.
"Let's go," he said, leading the way inside, her Army duffel bag over his shoulder. The girl followed behind him, her footsteps silent even in her combat boots. "Hey Chuck! She's here!" Logan called out as they walked down the hall. The girl allowed her eyes to roam, taking in everything. The vaulted ceilings, the grand staircase, the wood floors and, if she allowed her eyes to haze just slightly, the atoms and molecules that made up the house.
There were others in the house, she could feel their energy. All of them were mutants, as their X-genes proclaimed. She was so caught up in trying to feel the energy and read the atomic blueprints in front of her that she didn't notice the tall man in the black turtleneck sweater in front of her until it was too late. She smacked straight into him.
She felt something grab her wrist and cried out as a torrent of foreign energy shot through her body, changing her atomic make up. Before she could blink, she felt a tug and tried to break free. Her attempts resulted in something pull towards her, hitting her in the back of her knees. She squeaked in surprise as she fell backwards into what felt like a chair, knocking her head against an equally hard orb-ish shape. The girl groaned, turning her head, making her cheek come into contact with someone else's cheek.
Another jolt shot through her body, this one releasing a cacophony in her mind. The girl screamed in pain as it felt like the noise, so many voices jumbled together and turned up to eleven, was trying to pull her mind apart. She fell backwards, this time landing on the floor. The girl cried out in pain as she curled in on herself, trying to keep the objects that suddenly seemed to be raining down on her from hitting anything too important.
"Dammit!" Logan's voice pierced through the noise in her mind as she felt his body fall on her.
"Logan, what is going on?!" A British sounding voice demanded.
"She's attracting all the metal in the room!" another voice, vaguely German, proclaimed.
"She touched you two clowns and now her body's changed. She's changed her genetic make up so she can use your powers!" Logan's voice groaned, sounding by her ear. As he spoke, his head dropped back, his face connecting with her ear. The familiar zap was followed by an assault of smells and outward sounds. As she writhed on the floor, long blades shot from her knuckles, her now heightened senses swamping her.
"I'm trying to get into her mind. It's not working!" the posh British voice proclaimed. Let me in please, the voice sounded in her mind this time. The girl forced her eyes open, turning her head to locate the British one. She read him as quickly as she could, seeing the blocks he had put up in his mind. There we go, she thought, doing her best to copy the framework contained in his neural pathways.
She closed her eyes, this time retreating into the deep corners of her mind and erecting the walls she had seen in the man's mind. The more she worked, the quieter her mind got until it was just her, the three men in the room and the animal that was ravaging her mind. She turned her attention to the animal, remembering how the man currently pinning her had caged it and copying him, managing to get it under control. She opened her eyes once more, turning them to the man in the black turtleneck, and began to read how to control the metal he was currently attempting to keep away from her. Finally, she uncovered what she was looking for, and switched the magnetism off.
Finally, she was left alone in her own mind. She felt Logan roll off of her and stand next to the British man, who was in a wheelchair. "What was that?" the German demanded.
"That is her power Bub," Logan said.
"Can you just shut up for a minute?" the girl demanded. Are you okay? The posh British voice asked in her mind.
Just gimme a minute, please. The girl remained still, regaining her composure for a few minutes before sitting up. "Sorry about that," she said, opening her eyes.
"What was that?" the black turtleneck dude demanded.
"My mutation. I can feel, take and control atomic energy, manipulating it and the atoms and molecules fed by it however I please," the girl explained.
"That's extraordinary," the Brit said.
"Not exactly. I can't really control it. If I'm not careful, I remove all of the atomic energy from its host and transfer it into myself, leaving the host entirely depleted. Molecules and atoms that lose all their energy disintegrate."
"Why were you able to use our mutations?" the turtleneck said.
"Atomic energy becomes... contaminated by its host. I pick up on that contamination and my body reorders its atoms to hold it, allowing that contamination to become my own. Essentially, my body pirated it. The things I take aren't as good quality as the originals, but I still have them."
"That's quite the mutation," the wheelchair man said. "What else can you do with it?"
"I can read people's atomic make up. I read them like books and its almost as accurate as being able to read their minds. I can also change the shapes of things and move them. If it's made out of atoms and molecules, it's entirely under my command, with very few exceptions."
"I'd like a demonstration," the german said.
"Erik," the Brit warned. The girl turned her eyes to him, narrowing them. As she stared, the man's turtleneck changed into a short sleeve shirt, his hair turned from a dark brown into a light blond and his neck elongated, while the rest of him became fatter.
She felt Logan smirk as the man in the wheelchair drew in a deep breathe. "Amazing," he breathed. The German's eyes bugged out of his head as he noticed the change in his form. The girl waved her hand and he changed back to the way he was.
"I can do better with bigger, so long as I'm touching it. Very few things are exempt from my ability. As a rule, the more man has interfered in the production or growth of something, the easier it is for me to manipulate," the girl said.
"Are the clothes you're wearing exceptions?" the german asked, having recomposed himself.
"As I said before. I can't turn it off entirely. The fabrics I'm wearing allow me to insulate it, but only because I have yet to catalogue their make up. Once I do that, they'll be just as easy for me to work through as if I wasn't wearing anything. But for now, they serve as a barrier that keeps me from turning everything I touch into dust."
"How long have you had your powers?" the British man asked.
"As long as I can remember."
"How old are you?" The girl turned to the German man.
"Physically, I'm about seventeen. Mentally, I don't have any idea. I can't tell you when I was born, or how long I've been on this earth. I'm at least twenty," she answered.
"And your name?" Charles asked. The girl opened her mouth to answer but was cut off by Logan.
"Ecca Maddox. Her team name is going to be Rebelle." Charles turned his eyes to the girl, his gaze questioning.
"I don't know what my real name is. I usually go off aliases. But Ecca Maddox has a nice ring to it and Rebelle sure has a good ring to it," the girl answered.
"Ecca Maddox it is. Welcome to Xavier's school for gifted youngsters," he said. Ecca smiled.
"Thank you for having me."
A/N: I LITERALLY REWROTE THIS STUPID THING LIKE FOUR DAMN TIMES! I couldn't get it right and then IT FRICKIN DELETED! So yeah, this little creep didn't want to be written. Thank God for tea. Pretty sure I've had somewhere around four cups today. I think I'll go get some hot cocoa to shake things up. Anywho, I've changed the ship for this three times at least and I really don't know where I'm going with this thing so bear with me peoples. Please. I promise it's going to get better. Can I have some reviews? Please?