Book 1
Chapter One
Her name was Belle Yanos. That was her birth name, the first of many to come. Born in 1934 to a young female school nurse and a young male teacher, her family had just enough to survive. However, her mother was forced out of her job due to her pregnancy and her father due to the Great Depression hitting the school. They were looking for jobs during her first three weeks as a newborn before tragedy struck. The collision between their taxi and a cargo truck killed the driver instantly and left Belle and her parents fighting for their lives. However, Belle was the only one to survive. The poor one-month-old couldn't comprehend this, but she unintentionally used her genetic mutation to drain and absorb the life from her parents to survive. She was isolated in the hospital when she continued to drain from others to heal her untrained body. And so she learned to heal herself. Doctors were astonished, but people, in general, were disgusted at the "demonic" child.
She was transferred to an orphanage, and she was raised by a tired woman in her late forties named Jane. Now, Miss Jane was a stern woman who whipped her children into shape, never a smile upon her face. But she knew little Belle Yanos was a strange one and made the mistake of getting attached. The girl grew, sporting curly dark brown hair and big crystal blue-grey doe eyes. Freckles could sometimes be seen on her nose and cheeks and by the time she was three, her hair was as long as she was tall, tangling between her feet when she tried to walk too fast. Miss Jane would take her to the roof and cut her hair up to the beauty mark she had in the dead center of her upper back. The cut hair would fly away with the wind and sometimes even land on unsuspecting people who would pass. The process was repeated every three months, the girl's hair growth abnormally fast.
Miss Jane knew what the government knew: Belle was different. So they tagged her file. She was under no circumstances to be adopted nor taken into foster care. And so, she stayed at the orphanage, watching as her "brothers" and "sisters" were taken to happier places. Some of them got adopted. Others were put into foster care. Some grew of age to leave legally. Others just didn't make the journey in the orphanage. Little Belle was homeschooled once she turned five and it became even more obvious to Miss Jane and the other children that she was different. She absorbed material quickly, learning her ABCs and simple operations in a matter of days. The older children ended up teaching her material two years above her academically and would have taught her more had the Japanese not bombed Pearl Harbor in December of 1941 and forced the Americans into World War II in 1942.
The oldest of the boys from the orphanage were drafted along with our Little Belle, who was only eight at the time. Miss Jane tried to fight it, the boys tried to fight it, all of the children in the orphanage tried to fight it, but the government took her nonetheless. The day they were to be collected, all of the children stood on the veranda, the oldest boys lined up by the front steps with their duffle bags and Little Belle at the very end of the line with her small worn Pluto the dog backpack on her shoulders. Miss Jane came out and stared at the children who were being taken away. She looked at her boys and tried to look strong before saying to them,
"Blood doesn't come off with soap and water. It stays forever so be careful out there."
She then looked at Little Belle and her strength left her. Miss Jane knelt in front of the eight-year-old and stared at her. She didn't say a word, only scooping the little girl into her arms and holding her tightly. When the officers came, the boys went quietly, but Miss Jane held onto Belle in the hug. She refused to let go of her. In the end, they took the girl from her arms forcefully and Belle cried as Miss Jane took a beating for trying to fight back. All of the children ran back into the house, the older children forcing them inside. When it was over, Belle was placed in the car with the boys and the men drove away, the orphanage becoming smaller and smaller.
War shaped her. Belle became a medic, the best medic the Americans had. Her mutations allowed her to heal people with her hands and her mind, but that wasn't what made the government proud of their little pet. No, they were proud of the ability she possessed but didn't know about, the ability she used as a babe to survive, the ability to drain life. She saw many gruesome effects of war and washed them away, but the girl bore scars that couldn't heal. Plenty of her patients were grateful towards her, but many and most feared and despised her. Not because she was a mere child holding their lives in her tiny inexperienced hands. No, they feared and despised her for her power. She was the freak, the spawn of the devil, the mutant. She kept a journal in which all of her personal thoughts went, her diary. And every page was scribbled on, front and back, margins, corners, everywhere. Lots of the words were blurred with teardrops that fell from her cheeks at night and the horrid stories were lost in blobs forever.
The only good thing Belle had during the war was her private tutor, Caroline. She arrived expecting to teach a fourth grader about writing essays and plants, but she found a young girl mentally prepared for middle school and high school material. Caroline was happy to deliver. The two became close friends, but Belle wasn't aware that Caroline was German. She, her brother, and her sister were assisting the United States during the war, but despite living with their American mother, their estranged father was a high-rank Nazi official. When such information was uncovered, the three were arrested and held as captives. Belle continued her work but often snuck over to see Caroline. One day, Belle was called to the General's tent. Upon entering, she noticed Caroline and her siblings being restrained. The General had a horrible order for Belle to carry out and when she initially refused, he pulled a gun on her and ordered her. She was to drain the life out of the prisoners, torture them for information. She did as she was told, tears streaming down the then nine-year-old's face. The brother gave some information, but the sister gave very little. Belle had to press her even more and got a little bit more out before she stopped. She then had to turn on Caroline, who began begging Belle not to hurt her. Belle, in turn, cried greatly as she tortured her, Caroline's screams forever etching into her mind. The tutor gave no information and the general loaded his gun, giving her new instructions. Kill. Belle bawled, begging the general not to force her to do such a thing, but the general wouldn't budge. She killed the sister first, trying to be as painless as possible in her death. She did the same for the brother as well, but when she got to her friend, she didn't get the chance to minimize the pain as the general fired a shot into the German woman's hip. The bullet cracked her hip and sliced through her organs, internally ricocheting painfully. Belle panicked and tried to ease her pain with healing, but the general shot her arm, growling at her to follow orders. She ended up killing Caroline as fast as she could to take away her pain. And her arm healed fine, but she didn't. In her journal, she wrote blood doesn't come off with soap and water; it stays forever with the date and Caroline's name underneath.
She was given another tutor and she continued to excel while under war conditions. Her journal grew with stories and tears as she grew older and more beautiful. People treated her the same as always and she just took it as it was given. She never lost her attitude towards the world, always so hopeful and always so bright. That doesn't mean it was easy. God, it was so hard to hold herself together every day and night, but she managed, discovering the key to internal peace. No complaints. All smiles. And then came the night she overheard the generals. They didn't know about her telepathy. In fact, she didn't even know about her telepathy until that night. She laid in bed, almost asleep when she heard their voices. Like echoes in a dream, they discussed a plan. Dr. Klaus Schmidt was the target and she was the bait. Espionage. The plan never went into effect, mostly because it never got the chance.
That same night, tragedy struck. The camp was bombed and only one survived: little Belle Yanos. The now ten-year-old woke up alone and deserted in the midst of a wasteland, her head foggy from a dream of a man named Sebastian Shaw saving her. The dream would be a hazy memory that wouldn't come back until many years later. After that night, she was transferred with a new mission. She was to learn how to fight. She was to be a part of the troops on June 6, 1944, the great day the Allies knew as D-Day. She learned how to shoot and attack and fight over the course of three months. Belle was supposed to spend her eleventh birthday in a firing range, but she opted to walk a mile off from the base and having a lonely picnic. The moment was quiet and perfect, but it was missing one thing. Belle wanted a big oak tree to climb on so she could see the world around her, the world beyond the battlefield. Her yearning for the tree was so strong that a tree began to sprout a few feet away, but she didn't notice until she packed everything and stood to leave. In that instant, Belle knew she could never be normal and she could never get away from the one thing she feared the most: herself.
The invasion of the beaches of Normandy was a success and Little Belle Yanos survived the battle. She had been placed in the same squadron as her brothers from the orphanage. It was a bittersweet reunion considering the circumstances, but a reunion nonetheless. On the ground, one of them took a bullet to the thigh protecting Belle and the rest broke some bones or twisted something out of service to the country so once the battle was done, she took them to a medical tent and healed them. Her brothers didn't know of her power, but they all loved her with such a great amount of love that her powers only strengthen it along with their desire to protect her.
The war finally ended September 2, 1945, and twelve-year-old Belle Yanos was hugging her brothers goodbye in front of her gate. She was flying back home to the orphanage while they were going off to college. They promised to write letters and watched her small frame board the plane wearing her Pluto the dog backpack, still intact though it had dirt smudges. When she arrived at the orphanage, a warm reception awaited her on the porch with open arms. Belle got to meet her new siblings and rekindle with her old siblings, Miss Jane watching from the front door. When she finally reached her, Belle wrapped her arms around Miss Jane's waist and held on tight. That night at dinner, the room was overflowing with laughter and stories of the orphanage, so many memories Belle would just have to imagine. Suddenly, the telephone rang and the laughter immediately ceased. Belle looked around confused by the silence.
"During the war, a phone call could mean bad news, but now that the war is over, there's nothing to fear," Miss Jane explained as she reached for the telephone. Putting the top speaker of the handset to her ear, she responded to the other person with a generic greeting. The children decided not to speak, simply because the habit was still present. They all noticed her eyebrows furrow. "She just arrived this afternoon." They all looked at Belle before rushing out of the room in a quiet scurry and leaving Miss Jane and Belle alone. Miss Jane tucked her available hand into the pocket of her apron. "I don't understand...she's only a child, not even close to eighteen…" Her confusion turned into shock. "Are you daft? You can't...b-but she...sir...please, I'm begging you. She's just a child..." There was another pause before Miss Jane exploded with rage."Three days?! How dare you! She can't…" Her shoulders slumped. "Please...she's just a child...you've already taken her childhood, her innocence…" A few moments later, she put the handset back down and wiped away a few tears before turning to face Belle, who was staring at her food quietly.
"Are they taking me away again?" she whispered, afraid to look up. Miss Jane sat next to her and took her hands.
"They want me to release you." Miss Jane was shaking slightly and Belle looked up at her.
"R-Release me? Only the big kids get released…" Miss Jane let out a bitter laugh and squeezed her hands slightly.
"Only the big kids go to war. You're different, Belle."
"How different?"
"...The boys sent me letters. I know you have healing hands, dear."
"But...what about the rest?" Miss Jane stared at her for a moment.
"You can do more?"
"Miss Jane, I hear whispers...and I'm not crazy. I hear people think...like how I know you're scared of what's going to happen to me...about the house going into bankruptcy." She believed the little girl wholeheartedly and held her tightly to her bosom when she saw the girl began to cry. It took her a few moments, but she noticed the flowers in the middle of the table change. She had just picked the hydrangeas from the garden that morning and they were suddenly dead and wilted. She looked down at the child, noticing the black lines painting themselves in curled details on her little arms. The girl finally stopped crying and moved away from Miss Jane, wiping her tears away. "Miss Jane, w- what's wrong with me?" The older woman cupped her face.
"Listen to me closely dear. Nothing's wrong with you. You're special. Beyond special. You're amazing, outstanding, perfect. But not everyone will think so. You need to be careful. Your gifts...people want them, people are scared of them, and you need to protect yourself. Do you understand me?" She let go of the girl as Belle nodded, staring directly at the flowers. She knew her powers had killed the flowers and reached out to them, bringing them back to life. Putting her hand down, the designs on her arms faded away. Miss Jane simply nodded at the young girl and led her to the other children. She tried to work something out to allow the girl more than three days at the orphanage, but on the third day, the phone rang again. If Miss Jane didn't release Belle, the orphanage would go bankrupt and all of the children would be taken away from her. She had no choice. So with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes, Miss Jane had Belle pack the little belongings she could call hers and had to close the door on the brave little twelve-year-old with the special powers.
She learned to live on the streets, usually identified as a street rat orphan by people passing by. However, she was grateful for everything she had, despite how little it was. She had her Pluto the dog backpack, a couple of books she found forgotten on a park bench, her journal from her time in the war, a handful of pens, a blanket, and an umbrella. The bus driver knew her by name and always allowed her to hitch a ride to the stop at the library. She would spend her days there, helping the librarian restock and reorganize the shelves and getting paid $5 an hour under the table. That was her life since she left the orphanage: take the bus, work at the library, walk to the park, sleep under the bridge. It was a cycle that tired her greatly, but she did what she had to do to survive. Finally, when she turned thirteen, she decided to register herself for public high school. The looks on the faces of the ladies at the front desk were priceless.
Belle was too smart for high school, entering her freshman year in all advanced courses. She passed the classes with ease despite her lack of resources and passed all of her standardized tests with flying colors. The teachers and administrators were so astonished by the young homeless girl with a brilliant mind that they made a plea with the government to give her a GED at the end of her sophomore year; she was approved. Belle graduated at the age of fifteen after only two years of high school. She continued to work at the library during the day once she graduated, taking on a night shift at a local diner. The owner, Yvonne, reminded Belle of Miss Jane and so Belle grew to confide in her. By the time she was sixteen, Yvonne bumped her to be a full-time waitress and took her into her home, a small studio apartment. Belle got to sleep on the couch every night and for the first time in four years, she had a home.
She studied at the local community college for the next four years, working towards a bachelor in education while still working with Yvonne, who kept her on board for a little while longer before giving her a push to apply for an elementary school in the next town over. To her surprise, she got the job as the kindergarten teacher and starts teaching at the age of twenty-one, still working the night shift at the diner and living on Yvonne's couch. The summer after her first year, she had enough money to buy an apartment of her own a block from the diner. And so, little Belle Yanos was on her feet for the first time and everything was normal. Until she crossed paths with Charles Xavier eight years after her life stabilized.
