Ok, this is my first Xmen story ever, so bear with me. I'm really sorry if, you know, people are out of character or whatever, but it's my first try, so take pity. Tell me what you think!
Disclaimer: I do not own Xmen or any of the characters or anything (except Emily, 'cause she's my character.) So, you know, please don't sue my ass for everything I've got.
Emily hated train stations. No, that wasn't right. She didn't hate the stations themselves, but the people milling about on the platform, or standing in line at the ticket counter. She hated these pathetic creatures, but she knew as much as she hated them, they hated her more. She adjusted her hood, shaking her long orange curls around her face. Her long black coat brushed her heels as she walked to the ticket booth. "One ticket to Westchester." She said to the man in the booth. She pushed her money through the small window and picked up her ticket with her gloved hand.
"Little hot for that coat, isn't it?" he asked.
She glanced down at her floor length black duster. "Maybe." She replied. She pulled her hood more securely around her face and walked towards a bench to wait. She sat on the hard wooden bench, silently willing the train to hurry. She hated waiting. Or more specifically she hated being stationary for any period of time. The longer she stayed in one place, the greater the chance that she would be caught and locked back in that hell of a prison.
A guy sat down on the bench beside her. "Hey baby." He said. She scooted away silently, cringing at the close proximity. "What's wrong, honey?" he asked. "Too tempted by this?" he gestured to himself.
She raised her head slightly so that she could glare at him without him seeing much of her face.
"Why don't you put that hood down?" he asked, leaning closer. Her senses were screaming at her to keep him away. "So I can see your pretty face." He grabbed her hood.
She knocked his hand as forcefully as she could. He looked surprised but quickly recovered. "You've got some fight in you." He chuckled.
She growled as angrily as she could. "Keep it up, pal." She snarled. "You're on a one way track to having your brains splattered on the windshield of the next train."
The boy laughed. "What's wrong with you, doll? You'd think you didn't have a heart."He grabbed the edge of her hood. With the jab about her heart echoing in her ears, she shoved him as hard as she could, causing him to fall off the bench. Unfortunately, his fingers were still on her hood and the sudden shove caused the hood to jerk back from her face. The boy cried out in shock. She yanked her hood back over her face but the damage was done.
The boy stared at her with a mixture of shock and fear. "You're a mutant." He hissed. She stood up and glared at him as coldly as she could. "Well deduced, Sherlock." She hissed. She turned and stalked away from the bench, only to turn after a couple of steps. The insult the boy had prepared to yell after her faltered under the heat of her glare. "And maybe I don't have a heart." She hissed. She turned and walked toward the exit. "Not anymore." She whispered.
Charles Xavier was silent as he watched the news. There have been reports of a mutant sighting at a train station just outside of Westchester County. No one was injured, but a teenage boy was badly frightened. More details at 6… He turned to Jean, Scott, Logan and Storm. "We need to find her." He said. "You four take the jet and get her.
"Got it." Said Scott.
"And be careful." He added. "In her current state she's a danger to herself and everyone around her."
The jet touched down with a crunch that jolted everyone inside. "You call that a landing?" Logan growled.
"I'd like to see you do better." Scott shot back. The door opened and they stepped out of the jet. Tall trees surrounded them on each side. It was the ideal place for a frightened mutant to hide. "Let's fan out and start looking." Said Scott. "We don't know what kind of powers she has, so be on the lookout for anything." He turned to Jean. "Can you read her mind?" he asked.
"I can try." She replied. She closed her eyes and concentrated. A few seconds and…"Duck!" she yelled. A ball of flame tore a path right over their heads. Another exploded in front of them, setting the dry leaves on fire and created a wall of flame.
"We're not here to hurt you." Storm shouted.
"Oh yeah, I've heard that one before." A voice replied. She darted out from behind a tree and glared at them. No wonder that kid was freaked, Logan thought. The first thing he took in was that her skin was red. Bright burning red, like the Devil himself. The girl was tall and slender, with long orange curls and pointed catlike ears. Her long cat-like tail swished back and forth behind her, her bright yellow eyes nothing but hostile as she stared at them. "Who are you?" she demanded.
"We're going to take you somewhere safe." Said Jean.
A dark shadow crossed the girl's face. "I know who you are." She said. "You're with them, aren't you?" She backed away a few steps. "You're here to take me back to that lab." A look of pure rage crossed her beautiful features. Fire appeared in each of her hands.
"Well I've got news for you." She hissed. "I'm never going back. I'd rather you kill me then lock me up again." And she turned and ran away.
"What the hell did she mean take her back to the lab?" Logan asked. No one knew. "I'll go after her." He said.
"Logan, we're doing this as a team." Storm protested, but he was already running after the girl. The trees flew by and still no sign of her. He stopped and looked around. Nothing. 'How could someone with skin that bright hide?' He wondered and then… A ball of flame hit directly in the chest. He winced as the flames seared his flesh. "Come out where I can see you!" he yelled.
"If you say so." A voice hissed. She struck him hard in the face and rolled out of the way. She threw another handful of fire, this time directed at his face. He ducked out of the way. She struck him again and recoiled. Damn she's fast, he thought.
"What's the matter?" She hissed. "Can't catch me?" The blood pounded in his ears as he stared at her taunting face. She started to edge forward as he glared at her. He dodged her punch and did the only thing he could think of. He grabbed her tail and yanked it as hard as he could. She cried out in pain and then hissed like a scorched cat. He pulled her sharply around and slammed her against a tree. His claws came out and he pointed them directly at her throat. She glared at him, breathing hard with his claws inches from her throat. "You're not from the lab, are you?" She asked.
"No." he answered.
She exhaled sharply through her nose. "Why are you here?" She demanded. "What do you want?"
He glared at her. "Drop the attitude, kid. We're trying to help you."
Her answering glare could've withered the forest around them. "Last time I let someone help me," She snarled. "I ended up locked in a cage for eight years."
His anger towards her cooled slightly with that statement. "Why were you locked up?" He asked.
She eyed him coolly. "Isn't that what your government does with mutants? Locks them up? Takes away their freedom?"
"Look, we're from a school for mutants." He said. "Where we're safe from being locked up."
Surprise registered on her face for moment. "You're from a school for mutants?" Her gaze shifted to his claws, still at her throat. She stared at them, as if they could tell her the truth. "Do they hurt?" She asked.
"Every time." He answered.
She was quiet. He decided it was safe to let her go and retracted his claws. "If you want to come with us, we'd better go." He said.
When she looked at him, her face was abruptly angry again. "If this is a joke or a trap, I swear to God…"
"It's not a trap, kid; we're trying to help you."
She hesitated. "I don't exactly trust you, but… ok."
They began walking back through the woods towards the plane. "So, you got a name?" He asked her.
She looked at him as if deciding whether or not she could trust him. "Emily." She answered finally. "What's yours?"
"Logan." He answered.
She nodded and then her mouth turned up in a wry smile. "Nice to meet you, Logan."
'She was pretty when she wasn't scowling.' He thought. 'Flawless except for those scars.' Those long, white, savage looking scars crisscrossing up and down her arms. "What happened?" he asked, gesturing to her arms.
Her smile disappeared instantly. "Nothing." She said, turning her face away. "I've been in a few fights, that's all."
He sensed she wasn't telling the truth, but said nothing. They walked in silence for a few minutes. "I'm sorry." She said suddenly.
"For what?" He asked.
She shook her head. "For being snappish and, you know, attacking you."
"It's ok." He said. "I heal fast."
She nodded. "I'm just not much of a people person."
He laughed. "You know what, kid? Neither am I."
She smiled. They reached the jet and he sensed that she was back on her guard.
Scott stepped forward first. "I'm Scott." He said "This is Jean and Storm."
Emily hesitated before answering. "I'm Emily." She said.
"We're going to take you somewhere safe." Said Jean."
Emily considered this. "No tricks?" She asked.
"No tricks." Said Scott.
Emily hesitated slightly. "This isn't my imagination, is it?" She asked.
Logan grinned. "Nope."
Emily grinned back.