A/N: This one-shot is based off of my previous Avengers/MCU fanfic, Unchained. I highly recommend reading it first.
Standard Disclaimer: All rights belong to those whose rights they belong to, primarily Marvel, though quite namely not me. Don't own a thing aside from my OCs.
Noriko Ashida had such high hopes when she first came to America. Sure, life was decent enough back in Japan, if you ignored the fact that she was surrounded by misogyny, really didn't care much for her family, and then there was that pesky little problem with her mutant gene revealing itself when she hit puberty. Like puberty alone wasn't traumatic enough.
But she'd left all that behind, stars in her eyes and a glowing future ahead of her. America, that wondrous land where women were treated as equals, opportunity was available for all and even a thirteen-year-old Japanese migrant girl could make her mark.
Yeah, right.
Reality smacked her right in the face as soon as she snuck off of the boat she'd smuggled herself aboard. First night on the streets of Los Angeles she lost her money. Second night her backpack with all the rest of her possessions.
She'd managed to beg, steal, and hitchhike her way across the breadth of the country. Her dream was to see the Statue of Liberty, that would make it all better, all worth it. Worth the misery of waking up cold and hungry, worth the things she sometimes had to do to get by.
Worth the degradation. Worth the loss of self-respect.
When she finally stood on the shore and looked at that big green statue in the middle of the New York City Harbor, the now very jaded Nori had to finally admit to herself that no, it hadn't really been worth it. She shivered in the rain, wearing the same jeans, now torn and ripped in several places, converse shoes, patched with duct tape, and black halter top that she had arrived from Japan in, and she felt like she'd come to the end of the road.
She was a mutant in a world that didn't feel particularly charitable towards mutants for the most part. Not only that, but she had very little control over her mutant power. She couldn't stop it from building up and couldn't contain it when it needed released. The best she could do was to dull it.
It all came down to electricity, which was everywhere really. It was in the air, it built up from the static of simply rubbing up against a person. Every outlet and light bulb, every appliance and street lamp. And she absorbed it, all the time, until it felt like she might explode. When it got to that point the entire world felt as if it were accelerated and her speech sped up to the point that nobody could understand her. That was the first warning sign. If she didn't release it on her own terms, like when nobody else was around, then, well, the consequences could really, really suck.
Just like today.
It was Nori's fourteenth birthday, a year after she'd left her home. She'd made her home on the streets of Salem Center, a run-down urban environment northeast of New York City. She still wore the same clothes, though she'd also obtained a ratty jean jacket from one of the many shelters that she would frequent on occasion. Not too often, though, as she didn't like being around people that much. Pople made her nervous, scared her at times, all the friction and static they built up as they moved. Made it much harder to focus.
She'd found a way, after a time, to dull her power. It wouldn't contain it exactly, but at least made it slightly more manageable to the point where she could go for perhaps a few days without needing release. They were necessary not just for her own sake but for the protection of others, like the small group of street urchins she often hung out with. The drugs were illegal, or course, and had quirky little side effects like a lack of appetite, which was fine with her really, but also a tendency to lose track of time expired.
And that could be problematic, especially when it had been too long in between hits.
She entered the corner drugstore, warily looking around for any other customers or security cameras. Finding neither, she nervously approached the counter.
As many times as I've done this, it never gets any easier.
"Whaddya want, kid?" the gruff old man asked, peering down at her querulously.
She had her hand thrust in her jacket pocket and her finger pointed. "Cash register, open it now," she growled imperiously.
The man stared at her incredulously and barked out a laugh. "Really, kid? Tell ya what, I'm gonna come 'round there and beat yer fuckin' head in, how 'bout that, huh?"
So much for the easy way.
"No, I don't think so," she snarled, pulling both of her hands in front of her, wrists together and fingers splayed outward. It kinda made her feel like an anime superhero when she did it, and she sometimes had to fight down the urge to shout 'Hadoken!' when she released her power. It'd be hard to take her seriously if she did that.
Instead of the small arc of sparks that should have erupted, startling the store owner into compliance as she'd done numerous times before at other stores across Salem Center, this time was much worse. Just as the power began to build like a violent sneeze, she realized that it had been quite a few days since she'd bled any off. And she knew this would not end well.
The bright bolt of electricity slammed into the chest of the burly man, throwing him back against the wall and starting small fires where it arced. Nori stood and gazed incredulously at what she'd done, the smell of burnt flesh filling her nose.
She'd killed a man with her powers.
Oh, no, no no no I've got to run, gotta get away, they'll kill me!
She turned and fled into the night, randomly taking turns as they came, just trying to distance herself from the scene of her crime. She'd seen what happened to mutants on the streets when they were found out. Nori still had nightmares sometimes of the boy's pitiful screams.
And people said stoning was confined to the Middle East.
She finally paused in the middle of an empty alleyway, listening carefully for any noise. Hearing none, she sagged against the wall and banged her head back against it. "Stupid, stupid, stupid…"
Like she wasn't one of the most easily identifiable street rats around. How many fourteen-year-old girls were there with Asian facial features and bright blue hair? Answer, yeah, just the one. Her. She just had to hope that nobody saw her, nobody could identify her.
"Why didn't I pay attention?" she whispered to herself. "I should have known it'd been that long!" That was the whole reason she'd needed to rob the store, after all, was to replenish her drug supply.
Stupid little girl, couldn't even count the days. Couldn't control herself. Didn't even think to grab some money before running.
Murderer.
She likely would have wallowed in further self-recriminations were it not for the strangest feeling that she was being watched. Her head perked up and she scanned all around, still not finding anybody but unwilling to take the chance. She sprang to her feet and began to hurry on her way once more.
Nori didn't want to lead anyone back to her little group. She didn't owe them all that much loyalty, but it was where she crashed most often, so it was like leading someone to her own doorstep. If she had one. Well, anyway, the place where she lay her head.
Her musings were once again interrupted as she walked down the street. She was definitely being followed, even if she couldn't see who. Living on the streets for a year was long enough to hone her survival instincts to the point where she could recognize trouble.
Only it didn't feel like the cops, or anything like that. Definitely someone had their eye on her, but who?
As she walked along Nori spotted a cheap diner, open all night and only moderately populated at this hour. Maybe she'd be better off around people right now, it wasn't like she could trigger her power again by accident. And then she'd see if someone followed her inside.
The Japanese migrant girl slipped inside the diner and took a booth by the window with a good view of the parking lot and the front door. She sat with her back to the wall and stared outside intently.
"What can I getcha, hon?" the waitress, a middle-aged woman who looked like she wore her years heavily upon her weary frame, asked in the raspy voice of a two-pack-a-day smoker.
"Just water, please," Nori whispered.
The waitress sighed and put her notepad back in her pocket and her hands on her hips. "Okay, look, I don't mind ya sittin' here when we're not busy. But if we fill up, ya gotta leave, 'kay? And no trouble or sleepin' while yer here."
"Okay, thanks," she replied, slightly surprised at the generosity. The waitress nodded and walked off to return a second later with a glass of water.
When she had left Nori looked back out the window but still could not see anyone. Was she imagining the whole thing? In any case she needed the break, had to calm down some, figure out what to do now…
Nori almost spilled her water when a small girl slipped into the booth across from her. Her mouth opened in shock. She'd never seen her come in, much less approach.
The brunette girl was athletically slim, maybe a couple of years older than her but a few inches shorter, barely five-foot-even, which was unusual enough in itself. She wore what seemed to be a pair of tan capris cargo pants and a tight black tank top. She had a pleasant and open face with a small upturned nose and a warm smile. The smile was what made Nori pause in leaping to her feet and fleeing right off the bat. It was a smile that was both reassuring and confident, one that said she wanted to help.
"Please don't run," the petite girl began quietly. "I just want to talk."
"Who are you?" Nori whispered. "How did… Were you following me?"
"Maybe," she shrugged with a knowing grin. "I'm Caitlin, but you can call me Cat. Hey, are you hungry?"
"Am I… Um, yeah. Yeah, I could eat." When was the last time she actually had a decent meal?
"Cool. I haven't eaten all day and I would love some bacon. You like bacon?"
"Um, yeah, sure."
"Oh, man! They have breakfast wraps! Those are so awesome!" The brunette girl had pulled out a menu and was perusing it with interest. "And here's one with bacon! You want one?"
"Yeah, that sounds good. Um, I'm Nori, by the way."
"Nice to meet you, Nori."
Caitlin signalled the waitress and ordered a pair of the breakfast wraps with bacon, and another plate of bacon on the side. "Can you bring out the extra bacon as soon as it's done?" she asked with pleading eyes.
"Sure, hon," the waitress laughed as she walked off to fulfill the order.
"Wow, you really do like bacon," Nori murmured.
"Yep, my very favorite food," Caitlin proclaimed. "Now then, Nori. We gotta talk."
"Okay, um, about?"
The brunette leaned in to whisper. "About what happened at the store. About your powers."
Nori stared at the girl. Her pale green eyes looked so honest and disarming, yet she knew about her. She knew she was… was a…
"Yeah, I know you're a mutant," Caitlin confirmed as if she could read her face like a book. "It's okay, though, really. I'm here to help."
"Help me?" Nori laughed bitterly. "How can you help me? Can you help me clean up the mess I just made? Can you help me… help me control myself? Help protect me when they find out what I am?"
Caitlin screwed up her face thoughtfully. "Yes, no but I know who can, and most definitely."
The blue-haired girl shook her head. Great, maybe this girl was a nutcase. Likely didn't even have money for the food and she'd need to run out on the tab. Wouldn't be the first time.
"Okay," Caitlin said quietly. "So you know you're a mutant. And you know you're not the only one. There are some that have gathered together in one place, a good place, to help and protect each other. I can take you there, a place where you could be happy and learn to control your power. I've seen what you can do, and it's impressive as hell, but you do need help. Let me help you."
They paused their conversation as the waitress approached with a large plate of bacon. Caitlin grinned her thanks as she dove in, pushing the plate into the middle so that Nori could access it as well.
Nori shoveled two pieces into her mouth before speaking again. "So, are you? A mutant, I mean?"
"Nope," she replied with her mouth partially full. "Enhanced, but not a mutant. My sister is one, though."
The Japanese native sighed as she picked another piece apart. "It's why I left home, you know. I mean, sure, I didn't fit in well with my family anyways, too much of a feminist, and they would have kicked me out soon enough. But when my… power… manifested, I had to leave."
"I get it," Caitlin nodded and smiled gently. "There are a lot of other mutant kids in the same shoes as yours at this place. And they helped me too when I needed it, it's full of good people."
Nori shrugged as she popped the torn pieces of bacon into her mouth. "I dunno, I mean, I've managed to get by so far."
The waitress appeared then with the pair of wraps. Nori took a large bite and marveled at the taste of the egg, cheese, bacon, and salsa covered in a flour tortilla. "Oh, this is good," she mumbled around her bite.
"I know, right?" Caitlin mumbled as well, covering her own full mouth with her hand. Eventually she swallowed and picked the conversation back up again.
"Look, I agree, you've survived pretty well so far. But it's been at the expense of others. You took a life today, Nori, even if it was by accident, which I know it was." The brunette leaned forward earnestly. "I don't blame you for that. I've killed plenty of people myself. But it's a lot of guilt to carry around, and it's only gonna get worse the next time you lose control."
They ate in silence for awhile as Nori digested the other girl's words. Could she find the help she needed? Maybe learn to control her power, not let it control her?
What would it be like to not live in fear of what she could do?
"You know, most of the mutants I've known have some sorta cool codename, or an alternate name they use," Caitlin murmured nonchalantly. "You got one?"
"Um, yeah," Nori blushed. "It's kinda stupid though."
"Oh, come on," the brunette wheedled. "Try me!"
"Okay," she replied, for some odd reason compelled to be more open with this girl than she had with anyone she'd met since entering the country. "It's… Surge."
"Surge," Caitlin repeated slowly, as if tasting the flavor of the name on her tongue. "Nope, I gotta disagree with you. Surge is pretty badass."
Nori blushed again and ducked her head, smiling at the unexpected compliment.
Caitlin had finished her wrap before Nori did and pulled out enough bills to cover the meal and leave a generous enough tip. That simple act was enough to convince Nori that maybe this strange little girl could, in fact, help her.
"Okay," she said quietly as she swallowed her last bite. "What the hell, I'll try it out. What have I got to lose, right?"
"That's the spirit!" Caitlin grinned as she rose. "You wanna head out now?"
"Yeah, okay."
Caitlin nodded and brought her hand up to her ear. "I just gotta call in and say we're on our way," she whispered, and then in a slightly louder murmur she spoke again. "Cat here, heading out now." She listened for a second, nodded, and then turned back to Nori.
"Okay! Let's split!"
They exited the diner and headed down the street. Nori was surprised to note that they were actually only a couple of blocks from her usual hangout. She'd never noticed this diner there before.
"Hey, is it alright if I say goodbye to some of my friends first?" she asked.
Caitlin gave an easy shrug. "Sure, so long as you don't mind me tagging along."
They made a couple of turns and entered a street lined with mostly abandoned row houses. Most were occupied by either drug dens or whore houses, but one in particular was her small nesting place. Not that she had any possessions to collect.
Nori looked around curiously but didn't see any of her usual gang except for one boy, Piper, that she never really got along with all that well. She walked up to the front steps where he was sitting.
"Hey, Piper, where are the others?"
"Dunno, Nori," he said, fidgeting nervously from his seat on the stone step.
She narrowed her eyes at the skittish boy. "Piper, what's wrong with you?"
"I'm…" The boy looked up over her shoulder and sprang up. "I'm real sorry, Nori," he exclaimed before running inside and barricading the door with their rudimentary locking system.
"Nori," she heard Caitlin call to her quietly. "We got company."
Nori turned to see a motley collection of five men and one woman. They were spread out in a semi-circle across the street, blocking any escape in that direction.
"Hey, Burner!" Caitlin called out cheerfully. "You're looking better than the last time I saw you! Got your powers back now?"
The man in question had a trenchcoat on that barely concealed the tubing snaking down from what seemed to be a backpack of sorts and towards his wrists. He had a rather ugly grimace on his face as he stared the small brunette down.
"You," he snarled. "This is the little bitch from Florida. She's dangerous, guys, but we can swarm her."
Caitlin chuckled lightly as she looked around the others. A few of them had weapons brandished while the woman had somehow formed her hands into blades. One man looked like a caricature of someone who might turn furry once a month, with extreme hair and elongated canines.
"Yeah, I'm plenty dangerous," the diminutive brunette purred, "but you're idiots to think I came alone."
At that a knife whistled down to embed itself into the arm of the one gun-toting man, causing him to yelp in pain and drop the weapon. Nori turned to see another small form drop from the rooftop, startlingly similar to Caitlin but with longer red hair tied back into pigtails and wearing jean shorts, a white crop top, and sandals.
"Nice, you caught the signal that time!" Caitlin cheered at the new arrival.
"I am learning," the redheaded girl replied calmly.
"Um, Cat?" Nori whispered anxiously. "Who's this now?"
"Oh, that's my sister, Becca," Caitlin murmured over her shoulder. "You make for the alley behind you when we get started, okay?"
"Really? That's it, the three of you against six of us?" Burner laughed, flickers of flame dancing around his fingertips.
Caitlin snorted derisively. "That's all we need," she said with an anticipatory grin. With a nod to her sister, the pair of them launched themselves into the midst of their assailants.
Nori began to back up fearfully. She didn't want to leave her new friend to her fate, but she didn't think she could trigger another surge so soon… And then her eyes widened as she saw the two tiny girls flinging their opponents about with abandon, kicking and whirling about like undersized dervishes.
Maybe they can take care of themselves…
She turned as she heard an urgent whisper from behind her. Standing at the mouth of the alleyway was yet another small girl, this one with slightly longer brown hair and wearing a one-piece blue jumpsuit. "This way!" the girl repeated and beckoned Nori towards her.
Figuring, what the hell, it wasn't like she could get in any deeper, Nori agreeably scrambled after the other brunette.
They ran side by side down the alleyway. "My name's Kitty!" the other girl panted. "I'm with Cat and Becca!"
"Okay," she panted back. "I'm Nori!"
"Yeah, I know," Kitty grinned back cheekily. She glanced over her shoulder at a snarled threat. "And we've got a tail. Here, grab my hand, and whatever you do, don't let go, okay?"
Nori sneaked a look over her shoulder and immediately wished she hadn't. The beastly-looking man was scampering towards them at incredible speed on all fours, saliva dripping from his fanged mouth.
"Oh, shit!" she whimpered. Looking forward once more, she could see that they were heading right for a brick wall. "Oh, shit!" she repeated in a wail this time. "Kitty…!"
"Don't let go!" the other girl barked as she gripped her hand even tighter. Nori closed her eyes, bracing herself for impact…
And then they were through the wall as if it hadn't existed at all. The girls skidded to a halt and turned. Kitty let out an exultant shout as she saw the wall shake as a loud thud sounded from where their pursuer had hit.
Nori looked around at the deserted basketball court they were standing in. "Um, so now what?"
"Just a sec!" Kitty replied cheerfully, gazing around nonchalantly and still holding her hand. "Gotta wait for the others!"
"So, I guess you're a mutant too?" Nori asked after a moment's pause.
"That obvious, huh?" Kitty grinned back. "And yeah, that why we just ran through a wall."
"Handy," she replied with a slight grin.
They both whirled as a soft sound came from behind. Two petite figures dropped down and strolled towards them, conversing lightly.
"That was fun," Caitlin was saying gleefully. "Didya see the ugly one that I planted on his ass! The look on his face was hilarious!"
"You would have to be more specific," the redheaded girl replied levelly. "There were many ugly ones."
"Yeah, okay, then the uglier one."
"Oh, that one. Yes. I stuck a knife in his hand while he was down."
"Nice one!" Caitlin grinned as they rejoined the others.
Her sister looked down at her attire glumly. "These were my favorite pair of shorts. They are now singed."
"Oh, relax," Caitlin laughed as the four of them began to walk off of the court and down the street. "We'll go buy you another pair, same brand even."
"Yes, but these were broken in already," the redhead grumbled mildly.
"So, Nori," Caitlin smiled. "You met Kitty, she's from the place I told you about, the school. And this is my sister Rebecca."
Rebecca gave her a solemn nod. "Hello, Nori. You may call me Becca if you like."
"Oh, okay then," Nori replied, still feeling slightly overwhelmed. "So, um, do we have to walk the whole way to this school of yours?"
"Nope," Kitty chirped. "Just far enough until our ride gets here. We want to get some distance from the bad guys first."
"They are almost here," Rebecca announced.
"Two minutes out," Caitlin agreed.
Kitty shook her head humorously and shot Nori a grin. "They have these cat-like ears," she whispered conspiratorially. "Makes it really annoying to sneak anything by them."
"Attempting to sneak past us would be counterproductive," Rebecca commented.
"True, we're more of the sneaky types ourselves," Caitlin snickered.
The distant whine of a jet engine was now audible. The wind began to pick up as they approached a deserted intersection, and Nori stopped, her mouth agape, at the sight of the large aircraft that suddenly appeared to be hovering in midair. It slowly lowered itself to the ground and a hatch descended.
"C'mon, Nori!" Kitty laughed, still pulling her by the hand. "Our carriage awaits!"
The four girls scrambled aboard and the hatch closed behind them. They walked forward to see a pair of older women up front. One woman had fairly short white hair but was rather young-looking and appeared to be piloting the ship. The other was a redhead with slightly longer hair. Both wore the same dark blue jumpsuit that Kitty did.
The redhead turned and smiled at Nori's approach. "Hello, Surge," she greeted her warmly. "My name is Jean Grey. Welcome to the X-Men."
A/N: Yay, first short story for Cat & Becca is done! I really do hope that if you got this far you've read my original story, Unchained, first. It's set in the MCU and mostly follows the Avengers timeline, but includes other tie-ins like mutants and Daredevil and Jessica Jones. Among others.
I like the character of Surge a whole lot, though I haven't read all that many comics with her in them. I need to do some catching up with that, but the sheer volume of X-Men related comics is rather daunting overall.
So, I hope you enjoyed the read. Please check out my author's page for more from me, and if you don't mind following me as an author that'd be an awesome way to be notified of the other one-shots and short stories I'm working on.
Stay shiny!