Today was a dismal day, at best. After the discovery of mutants 10 years ago, tensions had been high. The search for Magneto had continued, but to no avail until about a week ago when his trail of bodies had been found in Poland. Today me, my older brother Sam, and my parents sat anxiously in front of the television. The news reporter was going on about how every nuclear weapon in the world was firing straight up into the air. The missiles disappeared into the atmosphere, and were gone. My mom shook her head, "They made such a fuss about that! I feel sorry for the poor person who pulled that prank." We all went onto our regular, everyday business.
My dad had short blonde hair, and he was tall and muscular. My mom was short and stout, with brown hair. Sam, the biological wonder, was tall and skinny, and had bright red hair. On the other hand, I was short and had dirty blonde hair. Our apartment was medium sized. We had what I would call a balcony but most others would call a larger than usual windowsill. Being on the fifth floor of the apartment building gave me a great view of the valley. I sat on the balcony and read for the next few hours, serenaded (although I use that term lightly) by Sam's drumming. When he first got his drum set, he told me, "Kyra, someday, when I'm a famous rockstar, you'll donate this drumset to a museum for me?" I'd laughed at him but agreed. When I finished my book, Trollhunters by Guillermo del Toro, I wandered back inside to find my family once again huddled in front of the TV. My dad looked up at me. "The mutants are attacking." He grimly informed me. Sam explained for me. "Auschwitz has been completely torn apart, and Magneto has been spotted above Cairo." One look at the TV and I had to wonder how you could not spot him. He floated above city markets, raised his hands, and the ground started to burst. At first it was only in the TV, but then I felt the ground shake. My parents felt it too. "We need to get to lower ground!" mom cried. She grabbed my hand and we ran out the door, with Sam and dad right behind us. The tremors shook the building and I saw the ceiling crack. The concrete in the walls split like glass. One piece of ceiling fell onto the electrical box, leaving it sparking and exposed. It fell off the wall, directly onto my leg and knocking me onto my elbows. I gritted my teeth as electricity surged through my body. It felt like I was on fire. Oh wait, I was. I pushed the box of my leg and patted out the fire on my pant le. I looked up at my family. "Impossible! You should be electrocuted!" Sam breathed. "Kyra, are you alright?" dad asked. I shakily stood, and replied, "I think I was electrocuted, but I'm fine." the building shook violently, and my mom said, "We need to keep moving. Will you be okay, Kyra?" I nodded and my dad led our small family into the stairwell. The next few moments seemed unreal. The ceiling crumpled. Sam pushed me down the stairs, and I reached out as the ruble came down on my family. I felt power surge in my bones, and lightning shot from my fingers and shot toward one of the rocks. It exploded into dust. I stood there, shocked. Was this a side effect from being electrocuted? A thought tugged at the back of my head. Was it possible I was a mutant? I had mixed feelings about this. Half of me was thinking, Mutant? Like Magneto? The other was screaming, Mutant! Like Mystique! I thrust my hands towards the pile of rocks that trapped my family. Lightning crackled and sparked as another rock was reduced to dust. I could save my family, I realized. Again and again I shot the ruble, until it revealed the bodies. They were undoubtedly dead, but I checked the pulses just to be sure. My chest ached, and there was a lump in my throat that wanted to choke me. I felt my hands blaze with electricity. The electricity spread up my arms and pooled in my stomach. It wasn't just my hands sparking now, my everywhere was was. I looked down at skin and saw that I was glowing blue. My mutation is reacting to my feelings. I guess I am a mutant. I thought numbly. I looked back down at my big brother. Something wood stuck out of his back pocket. I bent down and pulled out his drumsticks. It's Magneto's fault. I thought suddenly. But it was true wasn't it? Magneto caused the building to shake, with caused the ruble to fall, which killed Sam and mom and dad. It was Magneto's fault. The building shook again, shaking me out of my thoughts and making me realize I stopped glowing. I didn't want to leave my family, but I was going to die too if I didn't go. I clutched the drumsticks tight and ran down the stairs. The latest rumble shook more concrete loose, but I blasted it out of the way. The walls groaned and creaked. I burst out of the front door, right as the building collapsed. Rocks pounded my back, sure to leave bruises. I stood there for God knows how long, before I even opened my eyes. My hands were white knuckles around the sticks. Salt Lake city was leveled. People were everywhere. Some looked as confused as I felt, others were cleaning up and helping injured. What was I supposed to do? I didn't want to leave Salt Lake. I loved it here! But from the looks of it, there was no Salt Lake city left, and come to think of it I needed help with my newfound mutation. What if I spazzed out again, and hurt somebody? I started to walk, until I heard a cry. "Help! Somebody help!" I ran over to what I recognized as the leftovers of a bank. A woman stood over a pile of debris, yelling and trying to push a rock off the pile. I ran up and said, "Here let me try." Crack! Crack! Crack! After a few blinding bolts of electricity the rubble pile was no more. A little boy was cowering in a ball, half under the bank's tall metal door. I shot at it, and I could feel the door raise slightly. Could I move metal as easily as I exploded rock? I threw my hand to the side, and the door went flying. The mom leapt forward and scooped little boy. My heart ached as I remembered my own mom's dead body. I started walking, my heart plummeting at the fact that the LDS temple was only half standing. Suddenly I realized something. My powers were similar to Magneto's. I could control metal, probably through electromagnets, and through that I would probably be able to fly. Flying was the only good thing to come out of our vile connection. Eventually I came upon Pioneer park. The destruction wasn't as eminent here - there were next to no buildings. I figured this was a good a spot as any to try to fly. I felt the electricity in my hands, and they started to spark. If I could create electromagnets, then maybe I could fly by connecting to the earth's magnetic field and using it to support me, like two magnets with the same charge. I wasn't sure, of course. This theory was based off of middle school science and too much Doctor Who. I pushed my palms towards the ground and concentrated. My hands started to glow and, similar to earlier, I started to glow everywhere. The glowing would never stop being a novelty. It was sky blue, and just beneath my skin. In all my thoughts, I didn't realize my feet weren't touching the ground. It looked like I was a foot or two high. I whooped, punching the air, right before I exploded. In a flash of white light, I was thrown out of the air and across the grass. I slid up to a tree, and lay there, on my side. Grinning, I blinked out the bright spots from my vision. The trees around me were on fire. I layed on my back and spread out my arms. I had done it. True, I could have killed somebody, but I had flown. I now had to answer the question, What now? My family was dead, my town was flattened, and I was a mutant. "Maybe I should find Magneto and give him a piece of my mind." I said to myself. I figured why not? Nothing else could go wrong. There was a creak, and I looked up just in time to see a flaming tree fall on top of me. The tree snapped and branches creaked as it landed on me, trapping me under it's trunk. The tree cracked - no wait. That was me. I had broken something, probably a rib, hopefully not two. The tree was still on me, and I tried to push it off my mid section. My ribs flared up in pain in protest. I pushed anyway, harder this time. The tree slid onto my legs, and I hissed at the pain. One more push and it rolled onto the grass. I stood and tucked my arm around my side. This was going to be a long day.
Charles Xavier rolled up to the new and improved cerebro. Hank had fixed it, and touched up some of the bugs it had been suffering from before. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" Jean Grey said from behind him, "I can do it." the professor sighed. "I appreciate the concern, Jean, but I have more experience. History tells us that after big events like what just happened in Cairo, there is a rise in mutants. To put it lightly, we're going for a recruitment drive." Charles put on the helmet, careful not to get any wires tangled. The cool metal against his scalp was another reminder of the hair that would never grow back. The walls lit up with every mutant in the world. Jean strained to see them all in the huge room. The professor started to explain his plan. "We are looking for the ones that are confused and alone. Preferably children, obviously. We want to take care of the ones that need it the most first." Jean nodded and said okay at all the appropriate places, but she knew she wasn't going to be much help. Charles sensed that, and asked, "Jean, why don't you write down the names and places I tell you?" She grabbed a pencil and notebook from her backpack and sat on the floor, ready to write. Both telepaths could tell they were going to be busy.
I had figured out how to fly without blowing myself up, although it had hurt like a mother lover. My side screamed in pain as I flew towards Idaho. I had an aunt and uncle and some cousins who lived there. They were the closest living relatives I had, but I didn't plan to stay long. They didn't hesitate to bad mouth mutants, and I knew that staying would mean having to deal with everything that came after death. Funerals and viewings and mourning. People saying 'I'm sorry'. Going through that would mean accepting that I would never hear my dad make stupid jokes. I would never have another who-can-be-the-most-sarcastic conversation with my mom. I would never get (lovingly) beat up by Sam. It meant accepting that I actually saw their bodies and felt the lack of a pulse, and I couldn't. I did have to deliver the news to my extended family though. I arrived at the house two days later. More like face planted on the driveway, but I wasn't sure my rib could hurt anymore. I raised my hand to knock on the door when it opened. "Kyra! What are you doing here? Where are your parents?" I was bombarded with questions from my Aunt Tracy. She pulled me inside and I saw the rest of the family in the living room, around the TV. Oh boy. "Sam and mom and dad aren't here because…. They died. In the earthquakes." My extended family's faces fell. "No doubts?" My uncle whispered. "No doubts." I whispered back. The sudden silence was suffocating. Why wasn't anybody moving? I felt my right hand begin to spark, and quickly tucked behind me. My aunt wiped her eyes and wrapped me in a hug. Soon my uncle joined and my two cousins; James, who was my age; and Ally, who was around 8. James smiled, but his eyes were sad. "But now you can stay with us right? We can always do fun cousin things!" oh boy. Here comes bad news number two. I pulled away from the hug and said, "Actually I was planning on leaving. I'm fifteen, I can take care of myself." My uncle frowned. "You can't! After what happened the other day, mutants will be everywhere. We need to be careful with mutants, they are dangerous." My other hand started to go crazy as I got more angry. My aunt spoke up, "Those mutants want to start a war, honey, they are dangerous." the lights started to flash. It was my fault, I'm sure. It was because I was mad. My aunt and uncle were right, mutants were dangerous! I was dangerous! But trying to start a war? Only Magneto was doing that. Now my family hated what I was because of him. Another thing to add the the list. "It looks like the power is going out." My aunt said. "Kyra, why don't you at least sleep on it." I shook my head and said sadly, "Sorry Aunt Tracy, I better get going." before I left I took one more look at James, who had been unusually quiet. He was staring at my hands.
Jubilation Lee, Jean Grey, and Hank Mccoy huddled in the cockpit of the (finally) finished Blackbird. Charles had taken about three days to compile a list of names, another day to rest, and now he was back on the cerebro to track the mutants for the group. The black plane turned invisible as it hovered over Wyoming plain. It set down, still invisible, behind a gas station a few miles away from the border of Nebraska. "Let's hope we have better luck this time." Jubilee said. "This is the last one, so I certainly hope so." Hank responded. They left the plane and walked up to the gas station doors just as another girl walked out. This happened to be the girl they had come here for. Her messy hair was dirty blonde and she looked to be around 5'2. She was wearing holey jeans and a dirty college t-shirt. She clutched a pair of drumsticks in her hand. "Are you Kyra Quentin?" Jean asked. The girl froze, then stuck the drumsticks in her back pocket. Careful, Jean warned the others telepathically, she's getting ready for a fight. But the girl didn't fight. Instead she said calmly, "And who's asking?" The three gave their names, and then Hank quickly said, "We want to help you. We can teach you to use your powers and we can give you a home." Kyra narrowed her eyes. "for what?" Jubilee spoke up now. "Nothing! Us three live at the school. We all take care of each other and go to classes. Just wait until you meet the professor!" Then Kyra thought about it. something. "That actually sounds tempting, but it doesn't explain why you knew who I was and where I would be."
Hank responded, "We've built a machine that allows telepaths to find and see mutants." Kyra wanted more of an explanation, but she let it slide. The three other mutants waited for a yes or no. Hopefully it would be a yes. Finally Kyra Quentin answered. "Yes. I want to go."