Chapter 1
I've always been the odd one out. Clark Swendon, scrawny adopted kid of color surrounded by rich white Republican 'family.' On top of my tanned skin and shaggy dark hair, I'm also shorter than the rest of my family- I'm currently at a painful 5 feet even, and the doctor says I shouldn't expect to grow more than 5 more inches. I'm only 15, he says I have hope for a growth spurt, but not to be of average height. My adoptive sister and mother are both 5'8" and my father a towering 6'2" which never helped my self-esteem. All I know of my birth parents is that my mother was 17 when I was born and she refused to name my dad. I like to think my dad was this short too; it gives me some comfort.
Today is the day I have been dreading. My father, a politician, is making an appearance at the local park. He's even got special security and a fancy stage set up, he's apparently that important. I never thought he got anything done but the people here love him. I hate him myself, he's extremely anti-LGBT and we've gotten into several arguments over the fact that he's still wasting taxpayer money fighting to keep gay marriage illegal. I'm certainly not gay myself, but why he thinks he can force his stupid religion on people is beyond me. Living so close to him and seeing some awful things happen to my LGBT friends, I'm not sure society will ever change. Definitely not if he keeps getting re-elected.
We arrived at the back of the park discretely, thank goodness. People here recognize my father and his biological family, but people seem to forget I exist. I can just wander off and pretend to have nothing to do with those jerks. I'm sure when his speech comes up, I'll wander my way back, but for now it's nice to just walk around the park alone. My mother and father aren't paying the slightest bit of attention when I walk away, but my 18 year old sister gives me a strange glance. She motions for me to come back, but I ignore her.
The sky was cloudy when I woke up but now the sun shines from a bright blue sky, perfect for a day at the park. I head my way to the thickest trees, away from too many other pedestrians. I love to climb the trees even though I know it's not allowed- the thick trees allow me to hide up in the branches where I'm not likely to be spotted. I pick out a shorter but fuller tree and glance around me, making sure I won't get caught. I see no other people, so I begin to make my way up. The lowest branch is a good height, requiring just a little hop for me to grab. Swinging my body up, I ascend the tree and settle into a nook about 15 feet off the ground. The nook that I've settled in is way too comfortable, and thanks to the warm temperature, slight breeze, and calming green glow from the leaves, I soon drift into a nap.
A bird startles me awake. I jump, aggravating a knot in my neck. The bird caws and aggressively flies close to me and I notice a man coming down the pathway towards my tree. He's clearly some sort of authority and looks angry, so I get my butt moving. I scramble down the trunk as quickly as I can, and I reach the bottom of the tree right as he is approaching. Before he can get close, I take off in the opposite direction, heading for the bathrooms. I remember from a trip here with my friend Elan that in addition to the men's and women's bathrooms, there's also a family bathroom with a lock. As I get to the brick structure, I run around the corner and instead of ducking into the men's, I enter the family bathroom. I can hear the man scuffle around the corner and enter the men's room. I crack open the door and hear him say "I know you're in here kid. I don't care what your excuse is, but you're not allowed to climb trees here. I will be pressing charges and the more time you waste, the worse it's going to be for you." I slip out of the bathroom and begin jogging back in the direction I came from. With a glance at my watch, I remember that I'm late for my father's appearance. Passing my nice tree, I pick up my pace. My father is probably uttering trash to the people, but I want to see just how bad he's gotten to please his party.
As I get closer to the stage, I get extremely tense. There's a larger crowd than normal today and I can hear that the conversation that's about to happen is not what I want to hear. Someone has brought up the worst subject possible, the only one that it pains me to talk about with my father. I've tried and tried to get my dad to see the light, but he just does not understand transgender people the way I do. Every time he speaks on this topic, he hurts the people closest to me. Especially now, after all that happened a few years ago, and after all the awful things he did.
My father starts into his anti-LGBT beliefs and I get so angry. My arms tense up and I wish more than anything that I could change his mind. I start to shake and I know that I need to leave. I can't cause a scene; last time I did that, when I got home father punched me and yelled about how bad it was for his image and campaign to have a "raging liberal son." Instead, I turn around and start storming off in the other direction, where I can be away from his stupid noise. I don't want to be able to hear a single thing that comes out of his mouth.
My shaking becomes more violent as I stumble away. My father stares directly at me as I make my leave. People begin to glance in my direction, but I ignore them. I can still feel my father's eyes baring into my back. My vision becomes foggy and I feel faint, but I just need to get away from my father's booming voice in the microphone. My arms begin to ache but I'm not far enough away. I trip on the uneven ground and catch myself before I fall. Something is wrong. I'm not normally this unstable. I take another shaky step forward, but this time, I lose my balance. I feel like someone has pushed me over, but when I land on the ground, my arms keeping me from hitting my head, nothing makes sense. It's not a hand below me, it's a scaly arm. A dark, almost black, super shiny arm. That can't be right. What is that?
I try to stand up again, but my balance is all messed up. My legs won't bend right. There is something heavy, dragging me back down. I feel like my spine hits the ground behind me. My arms are still touching the ground but I'm as tall as I always was. People near me are beginning to freak out too. I can't focus on what they're saying, but all I see is them running away. People scream. I shake more and twist my head. Things are starting to make more sense as I feel my longer neck. It's harder to hold my head up as I look around and see the long tail behind me and the dense wings on my back. What the heck? I'm a dragon?... I'm…I'm a mutant. I look around more and see my father still standing on stage, now silent, staring at me. He backs up. I turn away. This is not the time. I can't deal with this right now. I'm 15, I have puberty to deal with, I don't need this too. My father already hated me enough, and now look at me!
I look back towards my tree and move my legs. They're working a little bit better now. I stumble on the ground a few times before I get into the groove of my new body. I don't want this. I don't need this! I begin to sprint, moving faster than I ever have before. More people scream, more people run away. I just run towards my tree. My calming, nice tree. It's just a nightmare. I'll wake up back in that tree and it'll be time to leave. I scramble towards it and leap. It's easier this time to get up high, and I go as far as I can, as out of sight as possible. I curl up on a top branch, the highest one that can support my strange new weight- any higher and the branches begin to bend. No. I shake as I curl up into a ball, the trunk against my back. The green light of the leaves no longer calms me. People are gathering below now, wondering what the strange scaly creature is doing- what I'm doing. I tremble. I don't want this attention.
I try to focus on something else, anything else, but do not succeed. People chatter and gossip below me and I tune it out best I can. I put my paws over my ears in an attempt to muffle them. I don't know how long I sit there. Eventually animal control comes and tries to lure me out, but nothing they have will do the trick. I'm fine up here, away from everyone. The sun is going down. People are hungry, they leave to get dinner. Everyone has given up. I am alone again. I stay huddled in the tree, it is comfortable and safe. I close my eyes to try and sleep.
Sleep does not come. Before I can relax enough, an immense, painful roaring disrupts my almost-peace. It is so close to my tree, my safe-spot. I bolt upright, digging my claws into the branch below me, then leap down the tree. I use my heavy wings to try and slow my fall but I do not understand enough of how they work. My claws help me down, grabbing onto the next branch. Within seconds I am on the ground sprinting away. I do not get far before I am startled to a stop. A voice sounds in my mind. Relax, little one. We are here to help.I turn my head around, cautiously inching further away from the voice. There is a thump as something hits the ground and a strange hissing noise. Several seconds later, a man in a wheelchair emerges down the path. More people follow him, intimidating people. He motions for them to stay put.
As he gets closer, I hear it again. Do not be afraid. I am here to help you.I stop moving, watching the man curiously. He is focused on me, and puts his fingers to his head. My name is Charles Xavier. What is your name?I open my mouth to speak, but my vocal chords no longer work the same way. I mean to say Clark, but instead, a growling whine comes out. Somehow, he knows anyways. Clark, you do not have to speak. I can hear what you are thinking.I turn my head to the side, confused. The man is close enough to touch me now. I look down at him. He opens his mouth this time, confirming that he was the one in my head. "Clark, it is okay. We are here to help you. You do not have to be afraid of us."
I relax slightly, but I am still confused. I glance warily at the others who are far behind this man in the wheelchair. They are safe. They are like you, they too have developed mutations that set them apart.
I look down at him. Like me?
Not exactly. All mutations are different, I have not met anyone like you before. But I do know someone else who can shapeshift.
He reaches towards me and puts his hand on my front leg. Clark, you need to relax. Can you become human again?
I whine, unsure. I am still uneasy among the others, but this man feels safe. I don't understand how my mutation works, I don't know why I shifted in the first place. I adjust restlessly, rocking from one foot to the other.
Clark, let me help you. I hear. I cannot tell a difference, but this man focuses intensely on me for a long while. I look at him, concerned. How is he helping? All of a sudden, I feel a twinge, like a forgotten muscle being used for the first time in a long while.
I feel faint again, and blink. When I reopen my eyes, I am once again human, sitting naked on the ground in the middle of the park, looking up at the wheelchair. The man picks a blanket off of his lap and begins unfolding it. "Come Clark, get warm." He passes the blanket to me. I stand and wrap up in it, letting it surround me, warming my shivering shoulders and goose bump covered legs. I glance around at the park, reliving my experiences from just hours before. Will I have to go back home now? They hated me enough before.
The man looks up at me. "Clark, you don't have to go back to them. I have a special school full of kids like you with nowhere to go. I can even help you control your mutation better while you're there if you like. All of us will." He motions to the other people.
I hesitate, thinking of all the things I would leave behind. Nothing, really. I never had much of a family, and my best friend disappeared three years ago. The only thing for me here is being a freak, getting beaten, and it would only get worse now that this happened. "I have nowhere else to go." I say to him sadly. He pats my back once and turns his chair to face the others. We begin heading in that direction, and I see what made the terrifying noise before- a jet.
"I'm sure you'll fit right in." He says to me, as we approach the others. We stop when we reach them. I wait for Xavier to introduce them. "Clark, these are Scott and Logan."
When his name was said, Scot nodded. "Hey Clark." His smile made him seem reasonably friendly.
Logan on the other hand was the opposite. He was a huge dude, not tall, but clearly strong. He seemed very disinterested in me, and was rather intimidating. I decided to steer clear of him.
Scott reached towards me for a handshake. I wiggled an arm out from my blanket and took his hand weakly. "Let's go find you some proper clothes." He began walking towards the jet and I followed. Xavier was close behind me, but Logan lingered for a moment before following. As I ascended into the jet, I prayed that I was on my way to a better place.