Author's Note: So this is my very first X-Men fanfic. The idea just sort of came to me and I hope you enjoy the story. Please review and let me know what you think! :)
Chapter 1:
The knee high grass swayed as her barefoot feet raced along the uneven ground. She brushed branches and bushes aside with bare arms, white as the snow. Equally white hair hanging to her shoulders swayed and snagged on twigs as she ran. Her breath came in ragged gasps and she stumbled, barely catching herself before she fell. She could still hear his angry voice bellowing out in the dark night, urging her to keep running.
Elizabeth had never guessed it would come to this. She never thought she would let her mother down, and be running for her life from her mother's drunken boyfriend at 2 in the morning. On top if it all, as different as she looked, Beth could barely believe she bad become…a mutant.
That morning her mother had dragged her to church as always, dressed in their gaudy Sunday best, where she sang and yelled loud "Amen's" even as the preacher talked about sins, knowing full well she would get drunk again that very night. Mama always told her she had to try extra hard to pray and ask God to cure her of her strange looks. She had even tried to push her forward for a faith healing, but Beth nearly ran in fright from the church at the thought of being in front of so many people. She always wondered why mama didn't pray extra hard for God to stop her from drinking, or to stop Brent from hitting her when he got mad. Maybe she did, in her private prayer, but not anywhere Beth could see.
She could take the odd glances, the whispered "albino freak", and even the nickname the kids had given her. They called her "ghost" because of her quiet ways, tendencies of hiding out in the shadows and corners, and her pale white skin and hair. Sometimes Beth wished she really could be a ghost, an observer without being observed. She could even bare the guilt she felt at straining the relationship between her mother and her boyfriend. He had never liked her and her mother blamed her, she thought, for making it difficult to find love. One after another no one had lasted. But Elizabeth could handle that. She had been carrying all of it on her shoulders for years.
Tears sprang to her eyes again as she remembered the events that had made it all go wrong. The three of them were at an evening revival, but Brent already had quite a few drinks in him. She had stepped out for a minute, overwhelmed by the noise and crowds and found a bird sprawled under a tree with a broken wing. Elizabeth had scooped it up into her arms and run into the tent to look for help.
"Someone help me! There's a wounded bird and its wing is broken. Please!" It was the loudest she had ever spoken and her face had immediately flushed with embarrassment as others turned around mid-song. She knelt, caressing the small bird's head and looking on forlornly at the bleeding and broken wing. Suddenly it was as if warmth flowed through her from her head down to her hands. To her utter shock the wing began to mend before her eyes, and also before the shocked eyes of the congregation. Beth jumped up as the bird suddenly leapt from her hands and took off, flying out the door. But the surprised gasps from behind her didn't stop. She turned to them slowly, looking at their openly shocked and frightened faces, and then looked down at her hands. Her skin was changing colors, shifting like a prism through all the spectrums. Terrified, she turned and fled into the dark, running for the safety of her house.
It was only minutes until Brent and mama got there. They were arguing and he shoved her mama into the house slamming the door behind.
"You knew about her Martha! How could you not tell me she was a freaking mutant?"
He took a swing with the hand that didn't hold his bottle and Beth saw her mother duck. "I swear I didn't know Brent! They told me she was albino when she was born. Brent stop it!"
"Do you know what you've done? In front of all those people? I'm an embarrassment Martha! How can I show my face around here again after that? I'm leaving you two freaks! And you!" He turned his angry gaze onto Elizabeth, a gaze so full of hate and anger that it made her step backwards with its pure vehement strength.
"You little bitch! How dare you pull a stunt like that? We should have shut you up in an attic somewhere long ago. I'll teach you what being a mutant means you little freak! You're not going to be a problem anymore!" He lunged at her, throwing his bottle aside where it shattered on the floor.
Beth heard the bottle shatter and the pleas from her mama for him to stop but it all seemed to happen in slow motion. He shoved her mama aside with one hand like she was a leaf, sending her flying backwards into the wall where she curled up and cried, burying her face in her hands. Bereft of even her mama's help Beth backed up slowly, holding her hands protectively in front of her. She felt the corner of the kitchen counter hit into her back. He made a lunge for her and without thinking her hand reached out for the frying pan she knew would be there off to her right. She swung it with all the strength her twelve year old body could muster and it connected with the side of Brent's head. While he was momentarily stunned and holding his head she ran past his legs toward the front door. "I'll kill you!" came the bellow from within as he tore out the front door after her into the night.
And so she now found herself running through the woodland park on the outskirt of town. Her chest was burning as she, not accustomed to running this much, attempted to flee for her life. She knew there would be no one to save her except herself now, and she knew she could never go home, even though her skin had finally stopped its color changing kaleidoscope. Even her mama had forsaken her.
Charles Xavier gave a start. He had been checking Cerebro as he routinely did for mutant activity. Within his school was many a mutant who had their lives thanks to Cerebro's early detection capabilities. And now Cerebro had found another one. A child's abilities had emerged for the first time. What should be a moment of joy and discovery was usually the darkest moment of dread for these children who suddenly found themselves in a very different world.
Cyclops, assemble the team. Cerebro has found someone. Charles sent a telepathic message to his most trusted tea, the X-Men. From the looks of it this girl was in serious trouble, and she was likely to be very frightened. This had to be done delicately.
Once up in the blackbird Xavier briefed his team on what he had seen through cerebro. "Logan, you and Scott take on her pursuer. I think Kurt and Kitty would be best to approach the girl. She's very frightened and likely to bolt so treat her gently." The teams ran in their respective directions. It was easy for Logan to track the man. The stink of alcohol was like a giant arrow in the sky, pointing right at him. In only seconds they were upon him. Logan put a palm against the man's chest, stopping him in his tracks. "That's enough of that bub." he said, every syllable brooking no nonsense. Brent was drunk but not insane. When the second man stepped out, he surrendered quickly.
Beth came to a halt, her sides feeling like they would explode. She sank down against a tree, taking in big gulpfuls of air while looking around frantically. She was shaking from head to toe, even her teeth were chattering. Beth had never been so terrified in her life. "Where am I going to go if I get away?" she asked herself, her voice the softest whisper. After a few seconds she pushed herself to her feet and began running anew, heartened by the fact that she no longer heard his voice echoing amongst the trees.
Kurt bamfed himself and kitty around in the woods, looking for a sign of the girl. For someone running for their life, this one was awfully quiet. Finally Kitty touched his shoulder and pointed. They could hear a ruffling sound of leaves being disturbed. "Kitty, I think you should go first. My appearance may be…a bit shocking to her." Kurt admitted honestly. He teleported them closer and then jumped up into the trees so he could follow from above just in case Kitty was in trouble.
Kitty could just see her back and a swath of white hair disappear behind a tree. The girl couldn't be more than 12. She was small and slender. She took off running after the girl calling out, "Hi, my name's Kitty! Please stop running. I want to help you!"
Beth could hear running behind her, and her only thought was that he was going to catch her at last. She summoned every ounce of strength she had left and tore off as fast as she could. Her eyes were brimming over with tears again and she could barely see. The voice of a girl surprised her, but she didn't dare stop. He could be upon her at any minute. Beth was running so fast and half blindly. She didn't see the pond until she was upon it and her feet fell out from beneath her, sending her sprawling roughly down the bank and into the cold and muddy water. She lay there, shocked, cold, wet, and too tired to move. She was tired of running and awaited the likely death that would come at his hands with a sort of tired acceptance. She closed her eyes tightly and offered no resistance when arms pulled her roughly from the water.
Kitty had seen her go down and had jumped down the bank to grab her. The girl was wearing a knee length white dress with purple flowers on it which was now slightly torn at the hems, and half covered in mud and dirt. Her hair flowed down to her waist but it too was tangled and had twigs and leaves entwined up into it. She waded into the knee deep water and pulled the girl into a sitting position, putting an arm around her shoulder. "Hey there. Are you OK?"
Beth slowly opened her eyes. She hadn't been hit, and she could feel someone's arm around her, holding her out of the water. It was another girl with brown hair pulled into a pony tail. Elizabeth looked into her eyes, trying to discern her intentions. She tensed, scanning the bank for signs of Brent.
Kitty could see the frightened look in her eyes. She had such expressive wide open green eyes, a vivid contrast to her paleness. "It's going to be OK. My friends have that guy that was chasing you. You don't have to run anymore. My name's Kitty. We came here to help you." She smiled at the girl and let go as she sat up on her own, hoping the girl wouldn't try to run again. "Here, let me help you up ok?" She held out her hand hoping the white haired girl would take it, a first step in gaining her trust.
Beth could only just look at her as she sat up. Why would a perfect stranger come to her aid? And how had they known she needed help. She had no friends in town, and no other family other than mama that she knew of. It seemed too good to be true. But what other option did she have? Feeling as if she were in a dream she very slowly reached for Kitty's hand. "Why did you come to help me?" Beth asked as she let the other one help her to her feet. Her voice was barely a whisper.
Kitty couldn't help but smile. She remembered when she had felt much the same way, confused at the sudden offer of help from Jean, confused by Lance's advances, and frightened out of her mind by her newfound abilities. It was hard to truly accept that there were people out there who would help with no strings attached. "How we found you is a bit of a long story but we're here because we are different too, like you." She avoided using the word mutant, unsure of how she would react. "See, I can phase through objects like this." Kitty demonstrated by running her hand through the center of a tree truck. The girl gasped in surprise and Kitty was afraid she'd gone and frightened here again, but she didn't flinch, so Kitty continued. "There is a school where we all live. It's safe and you can learn to control your abilities there. And you'll make a lot of friends." Kitty added the last part, beaming her friendliest smile at the girl. "I came to ask you if you'd like to come with us. What's your name by the way?"
Beth was amazed at what Kitty did. Honestly it frightened her a bit but it also made her curious. She touched the tree trunk where her hand had been but it was solid as ever. Her mama and the pastor had said that mutants were disgraced from god, those who had committed such a heinous sin as to be punished by his wrath with a curse like that. Beth knew she wasn't perfect but she couldn't think of anything she had done to deserve something like that. And this Kitty was so open, honest, and really seemed to want to be friendly. She didn't seem like such a bad person either. Beth began to think maybe someone had been mistaken.
She knew she didn't have anywhere else to go but she was still afraid, confused, and wary. "If I go with you, can I leave…if I don't like it?" She knew the question might be rude especially with what Kitty had done for her and she flushed in embarrassment. As an offer of amends she gave up her name. "Hi Kitty, my name's Beth." Elizabeth looked down at the ground to hide her flushed cheeks, wiggling her toes into the muddy bank.
Kitty laughed. "Of course you can Beth. You can go wherever you want. No one is going to force you. But I hope you like it there like I do. It's totally awesome! You'll like totally fit in there. I promise. And there are some way cool people!" She could barely contain her teenage exuberance any longer. Her normal bubbly self was ready to burst at the seams.
Beth was a bit overwhelmed by the bubbly girl's sudden ramblings, unsure what to say, but she smiled shyly, her face half hidden by her hair. "OK," she said softly. "I'll go."
Kitty took Beth's hands in hers. "Oh I'm so glad! Hey maybe you'll get the spare room next to mine. There's this tiny hole in the wall and I've always wanted someone to stay in that room so we can whisper and talk late at night. Wouldn't that be awesome?" Kitty realized finally that she was rambling in her excitement. This was her first time convincing someone to come to Xavier's school all by herself. She was practically bouncing and had to force herself to come back down to earth. She remembered Kurt, who was probably up in the trees above them. "There's someone I'd like you to meet Beth, but don't be alarmed. His appearance is a bit different. But he's like totally the sweetest guy once you get to know him. This is Kurt. He's gonna take us to the jet. Hey Kurt, you can come down now!"
Kurt had been watching the entire time. Without delay, the fuzzy elf teleported down to the ground, anxious to meet the new student himself. "Hello Beth, I'm Kurt Vagner. It's a pleasure to meet you." He gave a little bow, putting a hand on his chest.
Beth jumped as a man just appeared out of thin air in front of her. She backed up a step but Kitty held her hand firmly and gave a reassuring squeeze. He was covered in blue fur from head to toe, only had two fingers on each hand and a tail. His appearance was frightening and if it hadn't been for Kitty's grip on her hand she might have bolted. It conjured up visions of biblical demons like the pastor warned about. But his voice was soft and kind, with a thick German accent. She knew she wasn't a bad person, and yet she was now a mutant. If the pastor had been wrong about that, then maybe he was wrong about a lot of things. If God really hated her, and people like her, then that wasn't a God she wanted to believe in. She decided there and then to find the truth for herself. Gathering her courage she surrendered to her curiosity and reached out to touch his furry face, to prove to herself that he was really real. Her eyes went wide with wonder as she found her hand touching warm, real fur and blue skin. Suddenly realizing how rude she was being she quickly withdrew her hand.
"I think she likes you!" Kitty teased. Kurt felt his face flush in embarrassment as he flashed Kitty a "stop it" look. "It's qvite alright Beth. I know my appearance is strange to people. I am just glad you didn't go screaming and running like some people do." He offered a wry grin. It was true. He couldn't remember the number of times his appearance had sent shrieking people running, even when he tried to save their lives. It vill be vonderful to have you at the school. Are you ready to go to the jet?"
Elizabeth simply nodded and Kurt placed a hand on both girls' shoulders. Suddenly they appeared before a large, sleek black jet the likes of which she had never seen. There were people in uniforms like Kitty's milling around the plane and Beth instinctively hung back, but Kitty gave her a small tug. "It's OK." Soon she found herself walking up the ramp, looking about her like a frightened deer, and wondering what she had just gotten herself into.
She was introduced to a man in a wheelchair, and then to a redheaded lady named Jean. An African American woman named Storm gave her a warm blanket and helped her to buckle in for the ride. She sat in the aisle seat next to Kitty with Kurt behind her. Across the aisle was a tall muscle-clad man who only looked at her and said "Hey Kid". There were one or two more introductions but it all seemed a blur to her. So many things had happened; her mind was just whirling around and around. And she had never flown before. Despite how exhausted she felt, Beth thought she could never fall asleep. But minute by minute as the plane smoothly soared in the sky, her eyes began to droop and finally close.