Douglas's pov:
We raced through the woods, and burst out into the clearing. Then everything changed…
I'm Douglas. I'm just your average teen. Behind my house are acres and acres of open forest. So of course, that's where we go.
Me and Sam.
We've been friends since preschool. She's basically my sister. Sort of…
Anyway, we were out in the woods, when we suddenly burst into a clearing. And a creature from nightmares stood before us.
It was a demon, a devil, a monster. It had black skin, a long, forked tail, fangs, and held a knife in one hand.
"Sam, run!" I yelled. She was a few steps behind me, and might be able to escape.
The demon froze. It seemed confused.
"Get out of here, Sam!" I ordered, and leapt at the monster, grabbing the knife out of its hands, and pinning it to the ground. I swung the knife up, and was about to kill the beast, when two voices screamed the same thing. "NO!"
I couldn't stop the blade, but something else did. The knife whipped out of my hand, and dropped to the ground beside the monster. I was thrust backwards by a gust of freezing air. I landing on the ground hard, and my vision blurred. I saw a hazy figure step out of the bushes next to the beast. It was a dark-skinned woman. She knelt beside the monster, and helped it to its feet.
Sam ran forward, and did something so astonishing I thought I must have been hit on the head really hard.
She hugged the monster. I think she was crying a little.
I slowly got to my feet, and walked towards her.
The woman pulled Sam into a tight hug, whispering, "I thought you were dead!"
Okay, that's it. "Sam, what on Earth is going on?!" I yelled.
All three of them turned to stare at me. Sam quietly picked up the knife from the ground, passed it to the monster, and walked over to me.
"Douglas, there's something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you long ago. Remember the old X-Men comics?"
I nodded, unsure what she was getting at.
"Mutants are real, Douglas. And I'm one of them."
Sam's pov:
I couldn't believe it. I just couldn't believe it. After all this time, my friends had come back. They were still alive! These two, at least.
Douglas started backing away from me. "Sam, these guys are dangerous! Just look at them! He has a knife! He almost killed me!"
"No, you almost killed him." I said. "Douglas, let me explain first, okay? Just sit down. Let's all sit down. And I'll explain everything."
We all sat in a small circle on the ground. Douglas looked nervously at the others.
"Douglas, this is Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler. He's human. Well, a mutant human."
Kurt nodded politely at Douglas.
Good, they weren't going to kill each other. "And this is Ororo Munroe-"
"Not anymore." Ororo said quietly, looking at Kurt, her eyes shining.
I had a feeling I knew what she meant, but didn't want to make assumptions. "Are you…?"
Ororo smiled, and took Kurt's hand. "Married? Yes."
I grinned. I was so happy for them! "Okay, this is Ororo Wagner, also known as Storm."
Douglas looked overwhelmed. "Then who are you?" He asked.
I took a deep breath, and said, "I'm still Sam. But I'm also…" I concentrated hard, and inside Douglas's head, said, I'm also a mind-reader.
Douglas's pov:
I'm also a mind-reader. A small voice said inside my head. I jumped up. "What?!"
"Douglas, calm down!" Sam yelled. "It's me!"
It's just me. Don't worry. Sam said. IN MY HEAD!
I took a deep breath. I took another deep breath. "Okay. Demon-boy is Kurt, Weather-lady is Oreo, and you're a mind-reader."
"Ororo." Sam corrected.
"Oreorror." I tried.
"Oh, forget it. Just call me Storm." Storm said exasperatedly.
"Sure." I said calmly. I'd like to say I was taking this well. Well, not really. My thoughts on this:
Holy crap holy crap holy crap Sam's a mutant holy crap holy crap DEMON holy crap holy crap holy crap-
Douglas, calm down! Sam interrupted. "Calm down." She said aloud.
"Yeah, I'm calm. Don't worry about me. I'm just fine." I said nervously.
"Douglas, I'm a mutant, okay! Deal with it. You are too, so it doesn't mean that much-" She stopped, blushing furiously.
"I'm a mutant?!" I yelled.
Sam sighed. "Well, yes. And I think you already know what you can do. You're just refusing to accept it."
I froze. There had been one time, when I was little, but that was just a nightmare, right?
"Douglas, just try it. Please." Sam begged.
I closed my eyes, and concentrated.
I slowly transformed. Golden wings grew from my back, shredding my shirt. Claws erupted from my fingertips, reaching out at the air.
"Well, I think we have a name for you." Kurt said. "Griffin."
Sam's pov:
So that's that. Douglas is a mutant. He's a Were-Griffin. But those claws, why did he have to have claws?
*Flashback*
"Logan!" I cried happily. He had been away for months on a mission, and I'd been afraid that…. No, now he was back, here in front of me, racing towards me, arms outstretched.
"Sam!" Logan smiled, pulling me into a hug. I could smell the reassuring smell of him on his hair; smoke and strength.
"You were gone so long, I was afraid…" I couldn't finish.
"I'll never leave you." He promised.
"But what if you can't help it? What if something happens to you?"
"I can protect myself." Logan held up his hand. Three sharp silver claws erupted from his knuckles.
*End Flashback*
"Sam, are you alright?" Douglas knelt beside me. I realized I had fallen to the ground.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I looked at Kurt meaningfully. He knew what must have happened, and said quickly, "We have to go."
"Go?" Douglas asked. "Go where?"
"Home." I said. "The school."
Kurt nodded. "Here, take my hand. I can get us there in a couple of days."
"How?" Douglas said suspiciously.
"Like this." BAMF! Kurt vanished in a poof of purple smoke, and reappeared forty feet away, in a tree. BAMF! He was back.
Douglas applauded. "Very good. Let's go."
I felt another flashback coming, and quickly said, "Uh, Kurt, I'm going to- uh"
*Flashback*
"Hey Sam." Logan strode up to me. "Chuck gave us a mission."
"I thought I told you not to call me that." A man in a wheelchair sighed.
"Hello, Professor." I said politely. "You said you had a mission for me?"
"Yes, for you, and for Logan." The Professor said. "We've been told that Magneto has a new headquarters. We want you two to check it out."
"Yes, sir." Logan said, "We'll do some Magneto-smashing."
"No." The Professor ordered. "This is only a reconnaissance mission. No fighting. I would send Sam on her own, but-"
"What, you think I couldn't handle it?" I bristled.
"No. I think Logan may be able to help. He knows the area quite well."
"Where is it?" Logan said suspiciously.
"Alkali Lake."
*End Flashback*
