Disclaimer: I own neither Terra Nova nor X-Men.
The Shannons were many things: they were trouble-magnets, accident prone, a rather close-knit family, and generally good people. The Shannons were definitely not certain things: they weren't horrible criminals (despite the third child and husband in prison...), they didn't seek out trouble (despite how it may appear), and were most decidedly not human (despite how that may appear as well).
Years and years ago, whole families of mutants were practically unheard of. But even as the world held its last, dying breath, the remaining occupants continued to evolve. There were families of mutants, and the Shannons just happened to be one of them.
It was after the Eighth Pilgrimage that the people behind Hope Plaza started letting mutants through the portal. That wasn't to say mutants hadn't already made their way to Terra Nova, but it was only the less obviously evolved ones that made it: telepaths, weather manipulators, empaths...if it could be hidden, you could probably make it through. If you had a physical mutation, like if you blue or had claws that couldn't be retracted, you were barred from a second chance at life. Now, under the Mutant Liberation Act, section 17, subsection 4 it was illegal to bar mutants from Terra Nova, unless they proved to be hazardous, incapable of control, anti-human, sadistic with a superiority complex...the list went on, but it was basically the same for both humans and mutants alike.
It was the anger towards this that actually allowed the Shannons through. With James 'Jim' Shannon in prison, and a third child in the family, they could maybe keep some mutants out. The father-whom was more-or-less a closet mutant, though it was suspected due to lack of subtlety and pride-would have to stay behind, and so would the little girl. The mother was a noted mutant, having stopped a shootout at the hospital she worked at with her mutation. The daughter was listed as a human-though was very much a closet mutant, she already had enough problems without adding 'mutant freak' to her reputation, but the boy was obviously a mutant. You really couldn't hide wings during a physical examination.
And of course, the Shannons were many things: clever just happened to be one of them. They were a family, they would stay together no matter the cost.
And so, one of the first families of mutants crossed into Terra Nova. As a family.
Things in Terra Nova were so different: there was sunshine, fresh air, and more freedom than any of the Shannons had ever see in their entire lives.
But why, then, did it feel as though they couldn't breath?
There was an underlying tension among the people of Terra Nova, clinging to the air like the pollution had done in 2149. The reason for it was simple: mutants.
The people could be divided into three groups: those who supported mutants, those who opposed mutants, and those who were too frightened or, some would say, smart to chose a side. And as much as the Shannons would love to be able to declare themselves to be among those who supported mutants, it was indeed much smarter to appear neutral. Safer to stay out of the spotlight.
Still, it pained Jim and Elisabeth when Josh would bind his wings, those beautiful, angelic wings, and hide them underneath a baggy shirt and a long, bulky jacket every morning just to be able to walk outside. It hurt them all to hear people they would love to be friends with talk about the dangers and benefits of mutants, as if mutants were some sort of animal, some sort of pet or pest they had the right to control.
Things in Terra Nova were so different.
But even here it was like they couldn't breath.
"Dr. Shannon, do you think mutants should be allowed to have the same jobs as us? All things considered?" Dr. Mansour asked, a tone Elizabeth was familiar with ringing across the lunch table. Arrogance. Distaste.
Anti-mutant.
"I don't see why I should concern myself with this. So long as the job gets done, and gets done well, then I honestly don't care who, or what, has the job." Elisabeth said evenly.
"Really? Even though they're known to be unstable, not to mention arrogant and slapdash?" he pressed.
Elisabeth could have hugged and thanked Nurse Ogawa when she decided to throw in her two cents.
"What are you basing your argument on, Dr. Mansour?" the nurse asked skeptically.
"History. Mutants have proven time and time again that they're emotionally and often mentally unstable. Perhaps you've read about Magneto? Johann Schmidt?" he reminded them.
"What about Captain America? Or maybe you've read about Professor X and the X-Men?" she countered. Elisabeth was determined to stay out of this, though she could easily have said what Ogawa was about to say next; she'd heard this argument a thousand times before. "Sir, you have to remember that there has always been good people to balance out the bad. The same can be said for humans." Dr. Ogawa said. "What about you, Malcolm? What are your thoughts on mutants?"
Malcolm, geeky and forever dedicated to science, went on a rant about the fascinating aspects of evolution.
Elisabeth glanced at Mansour and found him glaring at at Ogawa. If it were up to that man and not Malcolm, people like Elisabeth would be without a job. He'd probably deny mutants medical care, even. Again, Elisabeth was familiar with this, she'd heard the arguments a thousand times over.
It didn't matter that her 'power' could really only be used to save people-because that's a shield does, and that's what a healer did-her species defined her.
It was probably for the best that Elisabeth keep her gifts a secret.
Jim Shannon knew how to keep a secret. He hid Zoe for as long as he could manage, he hide that he was a mutant. Despite what people thought, he knew how to keep his mouth shut. But...maybe not entirely shut. While he never told a soul about Zoe, there were a few people who knew what he was.
The first person he ever told that he could make things explode with his mind was his mom. Mostly because he destroyed their couch because he got pissed at the world for making him make things explode whenever he got pissed.
He'd told his best friend, who went on to become a cop with him. He'd died a couple of years back when a mobster decided to get a little revenge for a buddy sent to prison.
And his family knew. Of course they did, why would they not?
He'd had these hopes that he would be able to use his ability for something in Terra Nova, that he wouldn't have to fear someone knowing. That he could just use it for something good, and, hey, maybe receive a pat on the back for a job well done.
Taylor and Wash, and even Guzman, were very neutral about the grand Mutant Debate. That's not to say he hadn't tried to get some sort of opinion out of them, but they were like diamonds: impossible to break without the right tools, tools he was sorely lacking. He was sure at least the Commander knew Josh, and probably Elisabeth, was a mutant because of the profiling Hope Plaza did, but he never said anything. He wanted to ask them if he could just...if he could only...
He would never risk his family though. His sweet little Zoe, his genius Maddy, his firstborn Josh. His amazing wife... It was a unanimous decision to keep quiet about what they were. He could feel the tension in Terra Nova, knew if that someday it would come to a climax, and if his family was seen as a threat by the humans, they could very well be attacked. Killed. And, being a cop, Jim knew all about the way that humans killed mutants. Lynching. Burning. Stabbing. Shooting. Poison. Ambush. Their families taunted by anti-mutant groups, homes assaulted with hateful words and symbols, phone calls in the middle of the night, the attacks and killings, and the abuse...
Jim had to remind himself to breath. Just breath, and don't make anything explode.
He would rather feel trapped then let anything at all touch his family.
Maddy did a lot of thinking. She liked to think about math, science, books, and other academic things, but she was very much a teenage girl, and therefore her thoughts sometimes wandered. So sometimes she thought about food and cloths, and sometimes she thought about boys and friends-or, rather, a lack thereof.
Maddy was never popular. Never. Not even in kindergarten, not even in middle school, and definitely not now. She just didn't know how to handle people. She's ashamed to admit that they kind of scare her, that she's spent most of the years of her life since she was eleven hiding in her room.
It's not her fault. Really. It's just that she can feel everything they feel. She knows intimately the feelings of hatred and anger, fear and despair. Those are common among people, she can't go anywhere without them imposing on her mind. And it's really awkward when she knows when people have romantic feelings toward another. Like when in middle school Erica had a crush on her stepbrother Jordan...
She tries not to think of her empathy as a curse, but it's honestly not worth it. She doesn't know how to change the emotions of those around her without touching them, and can't tune them out. And it hurts.
She finds herself outside more often in Terra Nova. Not really with people, they still scare her, but out with nature.
Back in 2149, Maddy took school online. She just didn't leave her home if she didn't have to. The environment literally felt like it was killing her. Besides empathy to people, she was an ecological empath. And considering the state of things back in the future, it was no wonder she was so often sick and depressed. The people were despairing, the environment was crying and practically dead.
The people here aren't in total despair, though there's till negative emotions. The environment is so lively, so healthy, so happy. Yes, nature can feel happy. Or maybe it just makes her happy. It's pretty much one and the same to her.
And there's this boy, a soldier, who's aura is like a magnet to her. He walks with her sometimes on her outings to the gardens and along the fence, where things are so peaceful and she can almost breath.
And she knows that this boy, Mark, likes her. As in, romantically. That he feels something besides repulsion or vague lust for her body-though there is lust, but he never acts on it. He's genuinely happy to be with her.
She wonders what would happen if she just told him. About her abilities, that is. She's implemented a few experiments, learned how he feels about mutants and found positive results. Mark actually has a mutant aunt who's telekinetic.
But she just couldn't. Her first priority was to her family, and they were going to be careful. She wouldn't endanger her family for a boy. And even thinking of saying the words caused her throat to close up. She remembers the hatred in 2149, knows personally that it isn't totally diminished here, rather just simmering beneath the surface. She can't say it. Not now.
And that's okay, she can wait. Maddy knows how to be patient, has had to learn the skill the hard way.
"Miss Shannon, are you alright?" Mark said, his body close to hers. They were sprawled out on a blanket in one of the old watch towers. He was so close, she could feel his breath mingling with hers, hands twined together. He was concerned for her, probably worried this wasn't what she wanted.
It was. It wasn't everything she dreamed of (everything she dreamed of would be a world where she didn't have to lie and hide), but she wanted this.
So she leaned forward and kissed him.
Josh first got his wings when he was twelve. His parents had been a bit surprised, but they had assured him that they loved him, that he wasn't a freak, and that everything was okay.
Only it wasn't. Years ago Mutants had been close to being accepted into society, these days the hate and fear of mutants had returned with a vengeance. So he decided to hide his wings. It was difficult and annoying to constantly wear these baggy shirts and huge jackets, not to mention the leather straps dug into his skin in the most unpleasant way, but it was for the best. He didn't want to be That Freak and he didn't want his family dealing with the fallout of having That Freak as a son. They had enough trouble with Zoe, and the fallout from Maddy's 'gifts'.
It was hard to explain why he was always layering up. In 2149, everyone layered up because of the bitter coldness. It was warm here though. Tropical. Perfect weather to get a tan and enjoy the sun. Instead, Josh usually sweated like an overcooked pig. And it sucked.
He was dedicated to keeping this secret, for both the sake of his family and for his own sake. So on went the bindings and the layers every morning.
Which was why he froze when it happened. The alarms went off and people ran for cover, some shrieking in fear. Above his head, a child screamed as it was carried off by a pterodactyl-or some type of dinosaur-bird.
And no one did anything. The soldiers took aim, but none fired. No mutant attacked the bird-even if they killed it, the kid would drop to their death.
He caught his mother's eye from a window of the Infirmary. There was no dramatic moment when Josh suddenly knew his mom wanted him to save the kid. They just looked at each other. And then Josh moved, because he couldn't just stand there while this kid was being carried away to be eaten by a dinosaur-bird.
"Josh, what are you doing?" Skye yelled as he ran. He couldn't take off from the ground, he needed to get higher. "Josh!"
He shed his jacket before climbing the tree. He didn't have time to go up as high as he would have liked, but he hoped he had climbed high enough. He tore off his shirt, letting it fall and snag on a lower branch, and pretended not the hear the muttering as what was underneath was revealed. But when he reached behind him and unhooked the straps, he definitely heard the upset. No time to pay attention to it, the kid was getting further and further away. He balanced precariously on the branch, as far out on the limb as he could without it breaking.
And then he jumped.
There was that horrible, heart stopping moment when he just fell, followed by the immense relief when he didn't meet the ground and instead worked his wings, carrying himself into the sky.
He knew what this looked liked-some guy with 13 foot long white wings chasing after a dinosaur-bird to save a kid. Hopefully the 'save a kid' part would balance out the 'guy with wings' part.
He could fly pretty fast, so the problem wasn't so much catching up, it was getting the kid back. The thing's talons were digging into the kid's shoulders, and no matter how the girl-who had to be about five, the same age as his sister-fought and squirmed, she was wasn't getting away.
So he did the first thing that came to mind: he tackled it. It gave an angry squawk and turned, snapping its beak at him. It tore through his arm, but he ignored the flare of pain and the warm blood that washed down his skin. He would heal. Slowly, because he wasn't his mom who was a true healer, but he would heal.
It was instinctual what he did next, because he'd never done it or even thought about doing it before. He he grabbed the creatures head with one hand, the long neck with another, and twisted and pulled. It snapped with an audible crack.
Both dinosaur-bird and little girl fell, the latter released from the talons. Josh dived, hurtling past the creature, and just barely caught her by the ankle. He pulled her in close, hugging her small, bleeding body to his chest and leveled out as smoothly as he could (which wasn't very smoothly, not at all). They were a small ways from the colony, outside the outermost fence. Josh flew back.
The little girl, face stained with tears and flushed with panic, stared at him, quiet. Too quiet. Probably in shock or something like that.
It was with a small start that Josh realized this was one of Zoe's new little friends. Nina or Nika or something like that; he thought of her as Vampire Girl, because she was always talking about vampires.
And it was with another small start that he realized she was gaping at him, and those teeth were definitely sharp and pointy. Like a vampire's teeth.
It wasn't difficult to locate her parents, they were yelling and crying for their kid. They were in the market, so he circled around and landed as carefully as possible.
The parents thanked him, not even looking at his mutation. They took the little girl, hugging her and looking at the place where she'd been bleeding-there were no wounds left, the girl was a quicker healer than Josh would probably ever be. But she hardly noticed them, instead staring at Josh, eyes wide with wonder.
It was quiet, besides the two parents. No one said anything, no one really moved. Josh looked around, feeling uncomfortable and, for a lack of better words, naked. Exposed.
He looked up to Command, finding his father where he almost always was these days, next to Taylor and Washington. They were looking at him, too, though they didn't seem all that surprised. That made sense, since it was in his profile that he was a mutant and they undoubtedly looked into new pilgrims profiles.
He tried to say something, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. His mouth was dry, his throat choked up. He couldn't breath.
Say something. Tell your dad you're sorry. Say something. He could only shake his head, trying to translate what he wanted to say through one simple motion. His dad nodded, silently telling him what he said all those years ago, it's okay.
"He's a freak!" someone yelled.
All at once there was movement, and something in Josh snapped. Because it wasn't okay.
Josh ran.
"Angel!" the little girl wailed.
Okay, so I guess I'm not over Terra Nova. But I've recently become infatuated with superheros and, more specifically, mutants. This little monster was inspired by the thought 'What if there was a boy like Warren Worthington in Terra Nova?'
So I was thinking that if people liked this, I might write a few more Mutants-in-Terra Nova stories: maybe one about how the Phoenix Group invasion would have gone differently with mutants to protect Terra Nova and another of the tension between mutants and humans finally bursting and the mutants demanding equal treatment and safety, and not to mention the fallout of people finally knowing about the Shannons. Please let me know if anyone would be interested in reading those stories.
Reviews would be really nice, just saying. :)