I own nothing of the X-men, don't sue me, you will only receive beans on
toast! I am a poor student, so feel free to flame, my hovel needs
heating!
CHAPTER ONE
Gotta Be Quicker Than That.
"You've gotta be quicker than that."
He whirled around. He thought he'd lost her two streets ago! He flew down the only exit available to him - and realised his mistake too late.
Dead end!
A sinister laugh came from the opening of the alley. The girl was walking towards him. Slowly, so slowly, she began to clap her hands, a sound even worse than the laugh. Desperate, he searched for a way out. Any way out.
She'd stopped clapping.
Terrified, he turned to face her.
"Now, the way I see it, you got two choices, Rich Boy. You can give me your wallet, your cell phone and, oh yeah, the flashy watch too, or."
She paused.
"What. what's the other way?"
Her voice changed from playful to dangerous. "You don't wanna find that out. Trust me."
There! A ladder to the upper levels! He grasped for it, his hopes rising. when she grabbed his shoulder, pulled him down and slugged him across the face.
"That's the other way," she told his unconscious body.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jimmy was tired. Join the force, they'd said. Be a Man, they'd said. Do good for the Community, they'd said. Well, they'd never said anything about patrolling in the freezing rain, through the worst part of town, in the middle of the night.
Wait a sec! There was one of those punk kids, the ones with all the attitude. Thought they could cheat the law, did they? He'd deal with her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The watch was better standard than she'd thought. Bloody hard to get off as well.
* Click *
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
Turning, she raised her arms, dropping the Rolex as she did so.
"I am arresting you on a charge of assault." The cop strode towards her, his partner wheezing by his side.
"You have the right to remain silent." The younger cop grabbed one of her arms, wrenching it around in its socket.
That. Was. IT!
With her free arm, she elbowed the ageing cop in the stomach, then punched the other in the face, already running as they fell.
The last thing they saw before losing consciousness was the teenage girl, sparking tiny flames as she turned the corner.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
".the mutant is still at large, and is to be considered highly dangerous. DO NOT APPROACH. If seen, contact the police immediately with all details."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sparks stomped through the town centre. She couldn't believe she'd been chucked out of the Box - maybe she should've been happy with the one lift, instead of going back to the club for more.
"The mutant is incredibly strong and much faster than any human."
Her head snapped up. She stared at the TV in the shop window with total amazement. The smarmy bastard had reported the attack! And there, for the whole of New York City to see, was her face, glaring back from the screen. Of course, the artist had gone far over the top, giving her feathers for hair, and flames rolling off her clothes. Still, it was recognizably her.
She had to get out of here!
Fast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Pass it here! Pass it here!"
"He shoots."
"And the ball goes flying over the wall. Great."
"I'll get it, I'll get it."
Quickly teleporting to the other side of the wall, he began pulling back branches and leaves, in a vain attempt to find their one and only basketball. Pulling on one branch, he let it snap back in shock, straight into the now familiar face from the news. Terrified, he vanished.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Storm dropped her books, startled, when one of her students materialized in front of her.
"What have I told you about using powers out of lesson time." she began, when she was interrupted by an unstoppable stream of semi-coherent words.
"The Girl's outside. she. no feathers!.. but she's in the bushes. and they said she was dangerous. so I came to tell you. what are we gonna do?"
"What girl?" Storm's eyes widened with sudden understanding. "The girl off the news?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sparks struggled upright. The kid had no doubt run to tell. the place would be swarming within moments. It was too early! She thought she'd have time to escape.
With a resounding crash that made her cling to her head, the gates flew open, and two men came running out. She started to run, but her usual speed was not forthcoming. Working together, the men picked her up, holding feet and arms, completely immobilising her.
Struggling, she hit her head against the stone wall, disorienting her. The men, sensing her current state, quickly manhandled her inside, the doors, rooms and corridors blurring into one seamless journey, while a haze obscured her vision.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her eyes opened, just in time to see the door hiss shut behind the two men. She was alone in this windowless, colourless room, full of blinding lights and hard surfaces. Furious, she flung herself at the door, straining to find a way out.
When her futile efforts to open the door only resulted in an aching arm, she slid to the floor in frustration, glaring at the wall.
Suddenly, the door slid open, making Sparks jump. She looked up, but saw no-one there. She sneaked up to the door, and no-one was to be seen in any direction. Lighting a cigarette to steady her nerves, she picked a corridor at random. So intent on getting out of here, she didn't notice the almost invisible cameras placed at intervals along the wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This was easy! Sparks could see the exit. She sauntered down this final corridor, her hand reaching out for the door handle. when, inexplicably, her hand jerked round and pushed open the door next to it.
"Hello, Edele."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Confronted with this redheaded, glaring girl from the streets for the first time, Xavier wasn't surprised the police had accused her of mugging. The children of the streets often resorted to desperate measures in desperate times, and, by the looks of things, this one hadn't eaten in days.
"Do sit down."
"My name is Sparks."
"As you wish. My name is Professor Xavier. Sit down, Edele, do. And have some food."
She looked as if she was about to protest again, yet decided against it as he uncovered the tray of steaming hot food. Discarding any arguments as a waste of eating time, she sat down, and began to devour everything in front of her.
As she stuffed forkful after forkful in her mouth, the Professor leaned back in his chair to look at her. The long, red-blonde hair, full of tangles and one or two leaves was long due a wash, and the long black coat was so old as to seem brown. The baggy blue jeans seemed far too long for her, but seemed to have had plenty of wear already - they were full of rips and holes. Using her hands to make sure she didn't miss any scrap of food, she ripped off a chunk of bread and raised it to her lips before raising her eyes and realising his silent scrutiny. She raised her eyebrows, stuck out her tongue and wolfed down the remains of the meal. As if to prove a point, she lifted up her legs to put her feet on the desk, revealing big, black boots to complete the image.
When he gave the feet a pointed look, she slowly removed them, looked at him and sighed.
"Watcha want, mister?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, most people won't feed up a street brat like me for free. You must want somethin'. What is it? A robbery, some dirt on a top notch, protection? Whatever it is, if I can't give it to ya, I know someone who knows who can."
"Edele - "
"Sparks."
"Sparks. I don't want anything from you. you're obviously starving, and I just want to see you well-fed for once."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well, a year ago, when things weren't so harsh, I woulda said I don't take charity. Now, though. I know betta."
The Professor sighed. "How would you like to stay here? We take in plenty of mutants as badly off as yourself."
"I can take care of m'self."
"I thought you said you knew better."
Sparks looked into the man's eyes. Having made dealings with many of the mean guys on the streets, she knew what to look out for. This guy. this guy didn't have any of them. All she could see in his eyes was compassion, and a genuine desire to lift her from the slums of New York.
"All right, then. I accept yore gen'rous offer."
He smiled.
"But." she added, archly.
"Yes."
"I ain't stayin' here without my kids."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan slammed the parking brake on, giving a sideways glare at the girl that had forced him to come down to this shady part of town. She grinned back at him, knowing full well what that look was for.
"If it makes you feel better, I can guarantee that no-one's gonna nick this car."
"How the hell can you do that?"
"Easy."
She stepped out of the car and bent down by the wheel on the driver's side.
"You might need to replace the hubcap once we're gone."
Reaching into her coat and pulling out a knife that would have been automatically confiscated had the Professor known about it, she scratched something in the middle of the metal. She stood back, admiring her handiwork, as Logan pulled himself out of the car and slammed the door.
He looked at the smirk on her face and said, "You do know that you're gonna be the one explaining this to Cyclops."
Logan tilted his head to one side for a better look at the wheel. "What is that?"
"It's my gangs symbol. The F cut through by an S stands for the Freak Show. We're a gang of mutants. Powers really give you the edge out here."
Logan grimaced and followed the girl as she strode up an alley.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The three girls jumped up as the door was thrown open and tensed when they saw the imposing man before them.
"It's ok, he's with me."
Sparks swooped in, sweeping up the youngest of the girls in her arms.
"Pack your stuff, we're leaving. I've found us new digs."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan threw the last bag in the trunk as a scream of rage split the air from the room upstairs.
"Sparks, where the fuck are you?"
The two girls already in the car shivered in fear at the sound of that voice.
Logan saw Sparks shut her eyes briefly and place the girl in her arms on the back seat. She shut the door, quietly, and began to walk towards the building.
Logan spun her around to face him. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
She smiled. "Someone's gotta keep Snake happy. Don't worry." She looked at the three girls in the back of the car. "Take care of my girls."
Logan tightened his grip on her arm. "Get in the car."
"You don't understand. He's stronger than you, stronger than me. If he comes down and finds you trying to leave with his only source of cash. You won't make it to the end of the street."
More thuds were heard from above, then the sound of a door slamming.
She turned her eyes to Logan. "He's coming." She wrenched the car door open, and narrowed her eyes. "Now, get them out of here."
When Logan still hesitated, she forcibly shoved him into the seat.
"I can take care of myself, hero. You wouldn't be any use to me - I'm stronger than you can ever be. I wouldn't fit in at your precious school - I'm a bitch. Now, get the hell outta here before I get really pissed."
She slammed the door, narrowly missing his fingers. When he still hesitated, she snapped out one word - "Gizmo!" The eldest of the three girls ripped off her gloves and slammed the car with her fists. As the car started and slowly began to move, Sparks grinned and said, "You do realise she doesn't know how to drive. You're gonna have to take over sooner or later." As the car accelerated, he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder and said, "We'll be back. You won't have to stay with him forever."
She gave an ironic smile and said, "I'd like to believe that." Without a single backward glance to the car, she turned, and ran back into the building.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The X-men looked around the small, dirty, deserted room. It had been completely stripped of anything of value, and the only inhabitants now were a couple of forlorn cockroaches. Frustrated, Logan slammed the door as they walked away.
Jean turned to look at him. "It wasn't your fault, Logan. We can't save every mutant."
Waddya think? Flames, ideas and beta-readers welcome!
CHAPTER ONE
Gotta Be Quicker Than That.
"You've gotta be quicker than that."
He whirled around. He thought he'd lost her two streets ago! He flew down the only exit available to him - and realised his mistake too late.
Dead end!
A sinister laugh came from the opening of the alley. The girl was walking towards him. Slowly, so slowly, she began to clap her hands, a sound even worse than the laugh. Desperate, he searched for a way out. Any way out.
She'd stopped clapping.
Terrified, he turned to face her.
"Now, the way I see it, you got two choices, Rich Boy. You can give me your wallet, your cell phone and, oh yeah, the flashy watch too, or."
She paused.
"What. what's the other way?"
Her voice changed from playful to dangerous. "You don't wanna find that out. Trust me."
There! A ladder to the upper levels! He grasped for it, his hopes rising. when she grabbed his shoulder, pulled him down and slugged him across the face.
"That's the other way," she told his unconscious body.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Jimmy was tired. Join the force, they'd said. Be a Man, they'd said. Do good for the Community, they'd said. Well, they'd never said anything about patrolling in the freezing rain, through the worst part of town, in the middle of the night.
Wait a sec! There was one of those punk kids, the ones with all the attitude. Thought they could cheat the law, did they? He'd deal with her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The watch was better standard than she'd thought. Bloody hard to get off as well.
* Click *
"PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!"
Turning, she raised her arms, dropping the Rolex as she did so.
"I am arresting you on a charge of assault." The cop strode towards her, his partner wheezing by his side.
"You have the right to remain silent." The younger cop grabbed one of her arms, wrenching it around in its socket.
That. Was. IT!
With her free arm, she elbowed the ageing cop in the stomach, then punched the other in the face, already running as they fell.
The last thing they saw before losing consciousness was the teenage girl, sparking tiny flames as she turned the corner.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
".the mutant is still at large, and is to be considered highly dangerous. DO NOT APPROACH. If seen, contact the police immediately with all details."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sparks stomped through the town centre. She couldn't believe she'd been chucked out of the Box - maybe she should've been happy with the one lift, instead of going back to the club for more.
"The mutant is incredibly strong and much faster than any human."
Her head snapped up. She stared at the TV in the shop window with total amazement. The smarmy bastard had reported the attack! And there, for the whole of New York City to see, was her face, glaring back from the screen. Of course, the artist had gone far over the top, giving her feathers for hair, and flames rolling off her clothes. Still, it was recognizably her.
She had to get out of here!
Fast.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Pass it here! Pass it here!"
"He shoots."
"And the ball goes flying over the wall. Great."
"I'll get it, I'll get it."
Quickly teleporting to the other side of the wall, he began pulling back branches and leaves, in a vain attempt to find their one and only basketball. Pulling on one branch, he let it snap back in shock, straight into the now familiar face from the news. Terrified, he vanished.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Storm dropped her books, startled, when one of her students materialized in front of her.
"What have I told you about using powers out of lesson time." she began, when she was interrupted by an unstoppable stream of semi-coherent words.
"The Girl's outside. she. no feathers!.. but she's in the bushes. and they said she was dangerous. so I came to tell you. what are we gonna do?"
"What girl?" Storm's eyes widened with sudden understanding. "The girl off the news?"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sparks struggled upright. The kid had no doubt run to tell. the place would be swarming within moments. It was too early! She thought she'd have time to escape.
With a resounding crash that made her cling to her head, the gates flew open, and two men came running out. She started to run, but her usual speed was not forthcoming. Working together, the men picked her up, holding feet and arms, completely immobilising her.
Struggling, she hit her head against the stone wall, disorienting her. The men, sensing her current state, quickly manhandled her inside, the doors, rooms and corridors blurring into one seamless journey, while a haze obscured her vision.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Her eyes opened, just in time to see the door hiss shut behind the two men. She was alone in this windowless, colourless room, full of blinding lights and hard surfaces. Furious, she flung herself at the door, straining to find a way out.
When her futile efforts to open the door only resulted in an aching arm, she slid to the floor in frustration, glaring at the wall.
Suddenly, the door slid open, making Sparks jump. She looked up, but saw no-one there. She sneaked up to the door, and no-one was to be seen in any direction. Lighting a cigarette to steady her nerves, she picked a corridor at random. So intent on getting out of here, she didn't notice the almost invisible cameras placed at intervals along the wall.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
This was easy! Sparks could see the exit. She sauntered down this final corridor, her hand reaching out for the door handle. when, inexplicably, her hand jerked round and pushed open the door next to it.
"Hello, Edele."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Confronted with this redheaded, glaring girl from the streets for the first time, Xavier wasn't surprised the police had accused her of mugging. The children of the streets often resorted to desperate measures in desperate times, and, by the looks of things, this one hadn't eaten in days.
"Do sit down."
"My name is Sparks."
"As you wish. My name is Professor Xavier. Sit down, Edele, do. And have some food."
She looked as if she was about to protest again, yet decided against it as he uncovered the tray of steaming hot food. Discarding any arguments as a waste of eating time, she sat down, and began to devour everything in front of her.
As she stuffed forkful after forkful in her mouth, the Professor leaned back in his chair to look at her. The long, red-blonde hair, full of tangles and one or two leaves was long due a wash, and the long black coat was so old as to seem brown. The baggy blue jeans seemed far too long for her, but seemed to have had plenty of wear already - they were full of rips and holes. Using her hands to make sure she didn't miss any scrap of food, she ripped off a chunk of bread and raised it to her lips before raising her eyes and realising his silent scrutiny. She raised her eyebrows, stuck out her tongue and wolfed down the remains of the meal. As if to prove a point, she lifted up her legs to put her feet on the desk, revealing big, black boots to complete the image.
When he gave the feet a pointed look, she slowly removed them, looked at him and sighed.
"Watcha want, mister?"
"I beg your pardon?"
"Well, most people won't feed up a street brat like me for free. You must want somethin'. What is it? A robbery, some dirt on a top notch, protection? Whatever it is, if I can't give it to ya, I know someone who knows who can."
"Edele - "
"Sparks."
"Sparks. I don't want anything from you. you're obviously starving, and I just want to see you well-fed for once."
She shrugged. "Yeah, well, a year ago, when things weren't so harsh, I woulda said I don't take charity. Now, though. I know betta."
The Professor sighed. "How would you like to stay here? We take in plenty of mutants as badly off as yourself."
"I can take care of m'self."
"I thought you said you knew better."
Sparks looked into the man's eyes. Having made dealings with many of the mean guys on the streets, she knew what to look out for. This guy. this guy didn't have any of them. All she could see in his eyes was compassion, and a genuine desire to lift her from the slums of New York.
"All right, then. I accept yore gen'rous offer."
He smiled.
"But." she added, archly.
"Yes."
"I ain't stayin' here without my kids."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan slammed the parking brake on, giving a sideways glare at the girl that had forced him to come down to this shady part of town. She grinned back at him, knowing full well what that look was for.
"If it makes you feel better, I can guarantee that no-one's gonna nick this car."
"How the hell can you do that?"
"Easy."
She stepped out of the car and bent down by the wheel on the driver's side.
"You might need to replace the hubcap once we're gone."
Reaching into her coat and pulling out a knife that would have been automatically confiscated had the Professor known about it, she scratched something in the middle of the metal. She stood back, admiring her handiwork, as Logan pulled himself out of the car and slammed the door.
He looked at the smirk on her face and said, "You do know that you're gonna be the one explaining this to Cyclops."
Logan tilted his head to one side for a better look at the wheel. "What is that?"
"It's my gangs symbol. The F cut through by an S stands for the Freak Show. We're a gang of mutants. Powers really give you the edge out here."
Logan grimaced and followed the girl as she strode up an alley.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The three girls jumped up as the door was thrown open and tensed when they saw the imposing man before them.
"It's ok, he's with me."
Sparks swooped in, sweeping up the youngest of the girls in her arms.
"Pack your stuff, we're leaving. I've found us new digs."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Logan threw the last bag in the trunk as a scream of rage split the air from the room upstairs.
"Sparks, where the fuck are you?"
The two girls already in the car shivered in fear at the sound of that voice.
Logan saw Sparks shut her eyes briefly and place the girl in her arms on the back seat. She shut the door, quietly, and began to walk towards the building.
Logan spun her around to face him. "What the hell are you doing?" he hissed.
She smiled. "Someone's gotta keep Snake happy. Don't worry." She looked at the three girls in the back of the car. "Take care of my girls."
Logan tightened his grip on her arm. "Get in the car."
"You don't understand. He's stronger than you, stronger than me. If he comes down and finds you trying to leave with his only source of cash. You won't make it to the end of the street."
More thuds were heard from above, then the sound of a door slamming.
She turned her eyes to Logan. "He's coming." She wrenched the car door open, and narrowed her eyes. "Now, get them out of here."
When Logan still hesitated, she forcibly shoved him into the seat.
"I can take care of myself, hero. You wouldn't be any use to me - I'm stronger than you can ever be. I wouldn't fit in at your precious school - I'm a bitch. Now, get the hell outta here before I get really pissed."
She slammed the door, narrowly missing his fingers. When he still hesitated, she snapped out one word - "Gizmo!" The eldest of the three girls ripped off her gloves and slammed the car with her fists. As the car started and slowly began to move, Sparks grinned and said, "You do realise she doesn't know how to drive. You're gonna have to take over sooner or later." As the car accelerated, he turned his head to look at her over his shoulder and said, "We'll be back. You won't have to stay with him forever."
She gave an ironic smile and said, "I'd like to believe that." Without a single backward glance to the car, she turned, and ran back into the building.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The X-men looked around the small, dirty, deserted room. It had been completely stripped of anything of value, and the only inhabitants now were a couple of forlorn cockroaches. Frustrated, Logan slammed the door as they walked away.
Jean turned to look at him. "It wasn't your fault, Logan. We can't save every mutant."
Waddya think? Flames, ideas and beta-readers welcome!