Sometimes you just wake up and know it's going to be one of those days. Maybe you slept through your alarm clock or forgot to study during a weekend when you had a big test on the next Monday for one of your classes. For me it all started when a bunch of MRDs broke down my door and pointed their gun in my face. At 8am no doubt also when I didn't get home until 2am, so I was already in a nasty mood.
Now, I don't know about you, but when I get woken up before9:30, I am not the nicest creature in the world. In fact I tend to get a downright evil. And when it comes to my powers, it is not the best idea to make me mad because then I tend to lose control. So I don't think it's entirely my fault when the MRDs filed into my bedroom and giant vines come from the ground, grab them and throw them out the window. What? When a guy can control plants, things like that tend to happen. "You have got to be kidding me," I mumbled as I heard the screams and bellows of the MRD soldiers from my new renovated bedroom. More soldiers were going to be sent up to get me no doubt, better get dressed at the very least. Then start running. Yeah, that sounds like the best idea I've had in a long time
With a heavy moan I dragged myself out from under my electric blankets and pulled on the first clothes I grabbed. A pair of tight blue jeans, a black T-shirt with a pentagram on the front saying "Venom Welcome to Hell in dark yellow writing, and my dark blue Nike sneakers were all I had time to pull on before the next round of soldiers thundered up the stairs.
Quickly I walked over to the hole in my wall and considered my options. I could either A: take out the men coming up the stairs, or B: I could go out the window. Seeing the soldiers stepping into my room I quickly turned and jumped out the window like the terminator at the end of T2, doing a tuck and roll onto the ground which hurt like a mother.
On the ground, soldiers were already racing over to apprehend me; over their shoulders I could see the horrified gazes of my parents and older sisters as they looked at me, the mutant. My stomach twisted painfully and I mentally kicked myself for revealing my secret to them. I knew it had been a mistake as soon as I had told them. Something in their eyes just told me that they just couldn't accept me. Their betrayal left a bitter taste in my mouth, but I had more important things to worry about now.
I held my hands out in front of me, parallel to the earth and raised them slowly. In a neat little semi-circle around me a long root appeared from the ground, and then with a swift flick of my hand the root whacked against the ground and caused the approaching soldiers to be knocked off their feet. I took the momentary distraction to my advantage and started running. When the next batch of soldiers came towards me, I waved my hands in a graceful arc and thicker roots appeared from the ground and tied them up.
A few soldiers, wising up to my tactics didn't approach, but shot their guns at me. I dodged the ones I could, rolling out of the way, and created a shield from the ground to protect me from the rest. Since I was concentrating on the soldiers in front of me, I didn't notice the flying net until it was too late.
It wrapped around me like a spider web, making me lose my balance and fall to the ground. I snarled and struggled with the rope until a gush of gas to my face made my vision start to swim.
"Damn it all!" I growled as I lost consciousness. They had caught me after all.
When I woke up, I nearly blinded myself when I looked up into a very bright, long, florescent light bulb. I swore loudly and squeezed my eyes shut while I wiped away the tears leaking out of the corner of my eyes. Finally, when I had control of myself again, I studied my surroundings and scowled at what I found.
I was in a metal cell, no openings save for the door that was covered with glowing lasers. I didn't bother trying to see what would happen if I touched it, the results would be painful. The only piece of furniture, if you could call it that, were the hard benches on either side, they had placed me on one of them while I was unconscious. That was decent of them I suppose.
Slowly I rose to my feet and got as close to the lasers as I dared. Carefully I peeked out into the hall, but there wasn't very much to see. I was in the holding block, and there were lots of cells lining both sides of the corridor. I couldn't see any of the occupants, but I knew which ones were occupied and which weren't. The ones with mutants obviously had the force fields up while the empty ones didn't.
Interestingly enough, the cell across from mine didn't hold a single mutant, but a small family. A dark skinned man with spectacles and a beard, a woman with long red hair and a little girl who clutched a worn looking teddy bear to her chest. She was staring at me with big eyes and felt like the world's biggest idiot, remembering my curse words earlier.
"Hey kid. How's it going over on that side of the hall?"
Her lips twitched and her parents looked at me with some disapproval. I can't blame them. I hadn't exactly given them a good first impression, and with the way I looked like some sort of punk with my ripped jeans, and my spiked up black hair, and my darker then human green eyes. It did give me a sort of delinquent look. So I did my best to ignore them and kept my green eyes on the girl. I was good with kids; I had been really close to my little cousin before…well before my aunt and uncle stopped seeing me
She smiled tentatively and hugged her teddy bear even closer. "Probably the same as over there," she said quietly.
I laughed. "Probably," I agreed. "So what are you in for?"
Her father opened his mouth as if to speak, but the girl spoke before he hand a chance. "We let a mutant stay at our house because he saved my life and they arrested us for it."
I blinked in surprised. "You're not mutants?"
"Is that a problem?" the father demanded, a scowl on his face. I immediately raised my hands in surrender.
"Not at all, I'm just surprised. I didn't think I'd find any non-mutants down here." I frowned and tried to figure why the family would have been arrested. They wouldn't have been if they cooperated with the MRD… "You guys wouldn't tell them anything about the mutant you sheltered, did you?"
The girl shook her head proudly. "No, and we won't either."
I nodded in approval. "Good for you kid."
"What did you do to get in here?"
"Erica!" the mother exclaimed. "That's extremely rude."
Laughing, I shook my head. "Nah, it's ok. I asked first didn't I? It's only fair she asks the same question," I told the mom, then looked at the kid. "My parents don't like mutants at all," I said with a grimace. "When I told them what I was…well…they turned me in."
Erica's eyes widened. "Your parents did this to you?"
Uh oh, I hope I didn't cause any trouble between her and her folks. "Yeah."
Her big brown eyes started to fill with tears and I quickly opened my mouth to reassure her, but a hissing sound from down the hall stopped me. I craned my neck awkwardly, trying to see was what going on, and saw three soldiers marching down the hall. Two regular MRD soldiers a big, bald guy between them who I imagined was someone higher up on the hierarchy system. They stopped in front of the family's cell and the guy in the middle started talking.
"Tell me about the mutant."
Erica and her father stood up, clutching each other's hand. "We don't know what you're talking about," Erica said coldly.
"His name is Wolverine, and he's very dangerous."
"He is not," she spat.
I liked this kid even more
The big guy stepped towards them menacingly, and though I couldn't see his face, I imagine it was scrunched up in an ugly scowl.
"Yes he is," he snarled. Erica flinched into her father's leg and I snapped. The man was going too far, growling at little kids like that.
"Hey, big and ugly," I called. He whirled around to stare at me incredulously. His scars making my words quite ironic. "Yeah I'm talking to you. Why don't you pick on someone who can actually fight back? Or are you too chicken to do anything other than frighten little girls?"
With a snarl he turned to me and stomped over to my cell. "I'd watch yourself if I were you, mutie."
I smirked. "Why would I, when watching your face turn purple is so much more amusing?"
He gritted his teeth, but ignored my comment. "Ok, boy, I'm going to give you the deal we give to every mutant here. Give us the name of any mutants you know, and we'll—"
"You'll what?" I asked scathingly. "Set me free? I don't think so. Not hurt or kill me? I'm not afraid of you. You won't get any names out of me."
He grinned devilishly and I couldn't stop a shiver from running down my spine. "We'll see about that." He nodded to the guards who turned off the lasers and grabbed my hands. I struggled a bit, but I wasn't anywhere near strong enough to get out of their grasp and without any further ado, they dragged me out of my cell and down the hall.
They took me to another room not far away and placed me in a metal chair in the center. As soon as I sat down, large metal restraints clamped down on my arms, waist and chest and the bald guy laughed as I struggled.
"This is your last chance, mutie. Why don't you make this easier on yourself and tell us now?"
"You want me to talk, here listen to this" I snarled and spat right into his face. He just shrugged and pressed a button on a tiny little remote. Metal wrapped around my head, covering my eyes and keeping my head in place. There was a moment where I just struggled against the cold metal, and then excruciating pain wracked my body. There wasn't even a build-up in strength, just suddenly it was there and I screamed with pain and surprise.
I writhed in the chair, trying not to make a sound and to stop moving, but I didn't have control over my body any more. It writhed and whimpered pathetically, occasional screams bursting out and tearing at my vocal chords.
"It hurts doesn't it?" His voice seemed like it was coming from miles away, but its mocking tone injured me in ways that the pain couldn't. Clever of them, combining emotional and physical pain in one horrible, breaking experience.
"So pathetic, weak. How does it feel to be the scum of the earth? Unloved, unwanted? Your own family gave you up. You are truly alone now."
"Shut up!" I managed to spit out through my clenched teeth. I whimpered again and the pain spiked and I knew that Baldy was adjusting the pain level on the machine.
"Alex William James. 6'2". 16. Green eyes. Black hair." He snorted. "Your parents should have realized you were a mutant right from the start. Let's take a look at your high school record, let's see vandalism, martial artist, quick to anger, stubborn, class skipper, and yet a straight A student. We know all about you, Alex. "
The pain climaxed and I screamed as tears leaked out from behind the metal over my eyes. My back arched against my restraints, but nothing I did relieved the pain. "Go Fuck yourself!" I screamed.
"We'll find them anyways,Alex. And when we do we'll make sure that they suffer more because you made things that much more difficult for us. Is that what you want?"
"No," I moaned pathetically. "Go away Hitler!"
Abruptly the pain vanished and I sagged wearily against the chair, sweat and tears running down my face. My clothes felt vastly more uncomfortable now that they were sticking to my body, and phantom pain still made my muscles shudder. Slowly the metal strips over my eyes moved and I blinked to clear my vision. Baldy leaned closer, invading my personal space and I couldn't help but flinch away. His nasty breath contaminated my air and I could see a vein pulsing in his forehead.
"Tell me now, or you'll regret it."
"No," I whispered defiantly between my gasps for air.
He simply straightened and nodded to one of the soldiers. "Take him to Stone. Give him this." He handed the man a piece of paper and the soldier saluted briskly before turning to me. Quickly he released me from my bonds and roughly pulled me to my feet. My muscles still weren't working right through, my legs were like jelly and I nearly fell on my face until the soldier caught me and then proceeded to drag me away.
A few seconds later I was being dragged into another room that looked like some freakish modern day med lab. A metal slab was position in the middle of the room with tables and cupboards full of knives and other scary looking devices placed around the room. In a swivel chair by a desk a middle aged man reclined, reading a magazine. He looked up expectantly when we entered and grinned when he saw me.
"Oh yay," he purred. Which made me sick to my stomach "Finally, another one. I was getting bored here on my lonesome."
"He's all yours Stone. This is from General Moss." The soldier passed him the piece of paper and shoved me towards the slab before exiting the room. I started shaking again, but I glared at Stone anyways.
He quickly read the note then tossed it in the garbage and turned to me. "Well, young Alex, let me introduce myself. I am Captain Stone, and I am in charge of gaining information when that machine fails to do so."
"And how often does that happen?"
He shook his head. "Not often at all, I'm afraid. I haven't had someone to play with for almost a month now." I shivered at the word 'play' but he didn't seem to notice. "And don't bother trying to use your powers, my own won't allow you to do that."
I gaped at him. "You're a mutant?"
"Yes."
"And you're working with them! Hurting others of your kind! How could you?"
"Quite easily actually," he said coldly, clinically. "The MRD leaves me alone, I get rich and they get information. It's a win-win situation if you ask me."
"You're a monster," I hissed.
He shrugged nonchalantly. "Perhaps. Now, if you would please lie down on the table. We might as well get started."
"Make me!"
His dark eyes glittered. "Very well."
Before I could react he was by my side and lifting me onto the table. I screamed and lashed out at him, but he was built like a boulder and didn't even flinch as I pounded my fists against his flesh. Soon he had me strapped down to the table with leather restraints so I couldn't move no matter how hard I squirmed.
"Now, I'm going to give you one last chance to tell me what Moss wants to know. If you talk now I will not lay a finger one you and you may go back to your cell. So what is your choice?"
"Kiss my ass!"
He grinned manically. "I thought that's what you'd say." He turned his back to me and started fiddling with the tools. "Now, that machine that you just experienced put you through some of the worst pain you'll ever imagine and coupled with some emotional abuse it usually gets some good results," he said grudgingly. "But is has a major fault. For one, it only causes pain for as long as you're in it. "Older methods of torture, like branding and cutting makes a lasting pain plus disfigures the victim. And people are so vain by nature, that they usually do anything to stop both from happening. So, little one, that's what we're going to try." He turned around, holding a red-hot brand shaped like and 'M' in one hand. Quickly before I could do anything he plunged it onto my upper arm near the shoulder.
I screamed and the hot iron branded my skin, the smell of burning flesh reaching my nostrils and making me want to throw up. As my shoulder burned with pain and continued to throb unbearably I knew that if I cried I would give him more pleasure as Stone backed away with a sickly grin.
"On a scale of one to ten, how did that make you feel?" he asked as he reheated the brand.
"Fuck off," I growled.
"I thought so." He smirked and moved forward and quickly branded my other arm in the same position. I screamed loudly again when it met my skin and my stomach roiled, wanting to rid my body of food I didn't have.
"Please stop," I begged
"Giving up already? What a pity. But go ahead boy. Tell me what Moss wishes to know and I'll stop. So what is it?"
"I won't tell you anything!"
He shrugged. "Very well then." He put down the brand and picked up a wicked look knife. His wrist flicked towards me and I instinctively flinched away, but the edge still got my face and left a burning trail from forehead to cheekbone, just barely missing my eye. Before I could recover I heard it swish through the air again and then my palms burned with pain too.
I finally cried as the bloods poured out of my wounds, unaware of anything accept for the crippling pain. Part of me wanted to blurt out all the information I had to make the pain go away. Another part, the more stubborn part refused to give them what I wanted. So I compromised. I screamed out curses at Stone, hoping to keep my mouth suitably occupied so I wouldn't say something stupid and released my anger at him too. Still with each curse word, it seemed to make Stone more anger and he lashed out at me, only this time with a whip.
My screams and the cracks of the whip must have been loud enough to wake the dead, yet no one came in. After a while my voice grew hoarse and I stopped yelling, and Stone paused in his lashing. I kept my eyes squeezed shut and shuddered on the table, but I could hear Stone panting from exertion and grinding his teeth in anger.
Before either of us could say anything, the door opened with a hiss and a loud, guttural snarl ripped through the air quickly followed by the sounds of a scuffle. Bewildered I cracked my eyes open, blinking away sweat, tears and blood to find a short man dressed in a strange suit slamming Stone into a wall. I could only stare in shock as Stone slumped to the ground unconscious and the man turned to me, metal claws sinking back into his hands.
We stared at each other for a moment before he slowly approached with his hands raised towards me.
"Its ok kid, I'm here to help," the man said in a low, gravelly voice. He moved closer, his hands moving towards me.
"Yeah right" Struggling against my bonds to move farther away from him. The man stopped moving immediately.
"I'm trying to help you, kid. Please. I'm just going to undo those straps and help you to safety. I promise I won't hurt you. Just let me help you." Slowly his hands moved to the leather straps, and though I trembled I forced myself not to move. I had to be rational, just because he was a guy didn't mean he was going to hurt me. Focus Alex.
"Can you walk?" the man asked when he was done undoing the straps me. Instead of answering I sat up unsteadily and jumped to the ground, falling flat onto my face. I tried to climb to my feet, but my muscles were like mush and I couldn't do little besides sit up so the man stepped forward and before I could protest scooped me up in his arms.
After a short while the man stopped and I could hear a lot of voices. I covered my eyes to protect them from the light.
"Oh my stars and garters," a voice whispered not too far away. "What did they do to him?"
"Can you carry him Hank? I've gotta clear the way."
"Of course, hand the young man over."
I moaned pathetically as I was moved around, and tried to make myself even smaller as my wounds burned. All I wanted was for the pain to end, but it just got worse as whoever was holding me started to run, jostling me around. I moaned and flinched, certain I was going to explode form the pain, until I was placed gently on something cold, hard and smooth that began to lift.
I could hear gun fire and a loud engine, some people talking, but it all blended together. More tears streamed down my cheeks and a large, strong hand brushed against my forehead. I wanted to flinch away, but I didn't have the strength.
"Hey mate, he don't look too good," a male voice with a strong Australian accent said somewhere above my head. There was some shuffling around until the deep, gravelly voice of my rescuer spoke.
"Hey kid, can you hear me? Kid?" His voice grew steadily fainter and darkness began taking over. I welcomed it gratefully as slowly the pain began to fade away and I knew no more.
I slowly came to; I had a much nicer wakeup call that the day before. A rumbling hum by my side was rather comforting and slowly I cracked my eyes opening, careful to look away from the lights overhead.
Slowly and painfully I turned my head and blinked at what I saw. A Large, fuzzy, blue man wearing brown pants, a green T-shirt and a lab coat was scrawling on a clipboard. A pair of delicate looking spectacles rested on his nose, making his bestial appearance rather comical and not at all scary.
"Who are you?" I asked, my throat burning with the effort and sounding more like a croak than anything else. It sounded pretty frightening to me, but the blue man jumped a foot in the air then looked down at me in surprise.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry I didn't realize you were awake." He adjusted his glasses so they perched on top of his head. "My name is Dr. Henry McCoy, you may call me Hank or Beast if you prefer. And your name my dear?"
"Alex," I said shortly. I didn't want to seem rude, but I didn't trust him yet. "Where am I?"
"At X-men headquarters." He paused for a moment and smiled sheepishly, his big fangs flashing accidentally. "Well, at what soon will be the X-men headquarters anyways."
"Who're the X-men?"
"A group of mutants fighting for mutant rights. Our ultimate goal is to have humans and mutants living together peacefully, and we try to do that by not only saving mutant lives but helping the humans as well."
"Oh," I said softly, not quite understanding but willing to let it go. I studied Hank for a moment, noticing how his eyes kept staying to my forehead and sighed heavily. "So how bad is it doc?" I asked, slowly sitting up.
Hank sighed and sat on the edge of the bed, and I quickly moved back, to put as much distance between us as possible. Not because I feared the way he looked, I quickly realized, but because I feared what he might do to me. Stone had left a deeper psychological scar than I thought.
"Physically, you are doing extremely well," Hank said, politely ignoring my movements. "I cleaned and bandaged all your wounds and they seem to be healing nicely. The cuts on your palms and face will scar, likely permanently, but the lashes from the whip will likely fade in time. It's a miracle you weren't blinded. The scars from the brands are also yours for life, but they can be easily concealed as long as you wear something for than a t-shirt.
"You're welcome to stay here as long as you wish, Alex," Hank continued softly. "You may even join the X-men if you wish." He hesitated for a moment then spoke again. "Do you have anyone you wish for me to contact? Your parents perhaps?"
I clenched my fists at the word 'parents' and quickly shook my head. "No."
"Very well. I'll be in the next room over if you need me. Logan, the man who rescued you, will be wandering around as well so do not be alarmed if you see him."
I nodded. "Ok."
Hank stood up, the bed groaning in relief, and walked to the door. "Try to get some rest; it's the best medicine in these situations."
"Ok, thank you."
He grinned at me, flashing his fangs. "You're welcome." Quietly he flicked off the light and slipped out of the room.
I lay back down on the bed, and clutching the blankets around me. I hadn't thought I would be able to sleep in that strange room, surrounded by strangers especially since I just woke up a few minutes ago, but my eyelids started drooping almost immediately. Soon I was asleep.
