Another rainy night in the endless Hell that had become Alanna's life. Ever since the untimely death of her young father, only 31, and the arrest of her twin brother, she had been totally alone. She hated being alone more than anything. It made her feel hollow inside...
She shivered under the worn raincoat. Living in the streets and various homeless shelters throughout the city for five years, new or even decent clothing was hard to come by. She hadn't given up on her appearance like some of the others had. She managed to shower every day by sneaking into the Y or the gym, her nails were neatly trimmed, her hair was brushed and trimmed regularly... She even had her bangs dyed red by a practicing beauty school student. It covered up the few grays she had received from watching Robin-Daddy... die in the streets.
She was stopped on the sidewalk across from the city jail. What a crooked system... To throw a minor in there with those horrible criminals. Gryffin wasn't a criminal... he was only shoplifting... wasn't he? She felt a tear in her eye. Sure, Gryffin had had his secret ways of making money... She knew better than to question him about them, but certainly nothing he had done was THAT bad... Was it?
She shook her head and sighed. No use worrying. She couldn't visit him anyway, it was too late.
With a sigh, Alanna reached in her pocket. She had a dollar and a half. She HAD to do laundry... She could wait until tomorrow to eat. Maybe one of her friends at school would loan her some money, or even share their lunch. Her stomach growled loudly in sorrow. Another empty night.
Picking up the small bag she had laid on the sidewalk, She continued on down the street to the small Coin Laundry that would be nearly empty this time of night. Who knows, maybe she'd have enough money left to buy a soda? She didn't get her hopes up.
Alanna came to the gate of the city park. She hadn't set foot here since Daddy had died. They were on their way to play. He had actually had a day off, and wanted to spend it with her. Gryffin had said he'd catch up with them, so they walked together. The day was warm, the sky was so blue! She could still smell the pretzels from the vendors on the corners, hears the birds chirping... It had been such a beautiful day, and she remembered it so clearly. But, clearest of all was the sight of Daddy's blood red on the hood of the car. The car had been white... His blood was so red against it...
She felt her knees trembling. She felt drawn to go into the park. Maybe she needed closure? She wasn't sure what kind of closure she'd GET, but she felt the bag of laundry slip from her grasp. The gates weren't closed; it was legal to walk through the park at night, though it wasn't exactly SAFE. Tonight, though, it was far too rainy to have the gangs out. Even they stayed inside when it rained.
Alanna drifted towards the center of the park, towards the iron statue of the city's founder on horseback. He looked nobler then he deserved to look. Her eyes landed on a bench. Not just any bench. The bench she and Gryffin had ALWAYS sat upon. Daddy, too, when he could be spared. They would laugh and play make-believe and just be together for hours.
She turned away and felt herself slip in the mud and landed on her face. It hurt, but that wasn't what caused the sudden flow of tears. She knelt in the mud and sobbed her heart out.
"Daddy!" She cried out, her voice childish and lost in the rain. "Daddy, I'm sorry! I'm sorry I made you die! Gryffin, I'm sorry I made you go to jail! If Daddy hadn't been trying to save me, he wouldn't have died and you wouldn't have gotten in trouble..." She bit her lip and tried to hold back a sob. "Daddy! Gryffin! DADDY!"
Lightning lit up the sky with a deep boom accompanying it. The thunder was so close to the lightning, the storm had to have been in the city.
"DADDY! GRYFFIN!" She screamed, her heart breaking all over again. Again, a flash of lightning.
Alanna noticed a strange feeling in the air. Her hair was static, the hair on the back of her neck was standing up, a strange, fuzzy feeling filled the air. She glanced down at her hands and nearly died. Sparks were fizzing and popping from her fingertips!
"Have I been struck?" She gasped.
"Hey, you! Get moving!" A police officer yelled from the shadows. She saw him brandishing a nightstick... The police in this town were unafraid to use them on the homeless. Alanna held up her hands as if to say she was unarmed and harmless, however, it appeared she WAS armed. Blinding bolts of lightning shot from her hands and hit the officer in the chest. Alanna screamed in horror as the man fell. She was suddenly aware of other homeless people that had been in the park. There were witnesses, and she was in trouble.
Not knowing if the man was dead or alive, she fled the park. She couldn't be caught, they'd probably put her to death! But then, as she ran, she began to wonder... What the Hell had just happened?
"Oh God, I've turned into some kind of death ray!" She moaned. Ducking into a dark alley after running close to a mile, she curled up under a fire escape and sat there, shaking, wondering what was going on.
***
"Storm," Dr. Charles Xavier removed his headpiece.
"Yes, Charles?" Ororo came up behind him and placed her hand on the back of his wheelchair.
"Please tell Logan to ready the Blackbird. Cerebro's made a discovery."
******