I would be lying if I said I didn't miss the dry heat of the town I grew up in. See, I'm a mutant. My granddaddy was a mutant, too. But he got some recognition. I just got called Crazy. But that's all done and gone in the past. The past isn't too forgiving.. sure as hell as a nasty habit of biting you in the ass when you ain't lookin' right clear and proper. But the past is exactly that: the past. I knew my life wasn't going to be the same when they took me. I didn't have a lot a friends growing up, mainly cuz they thought I was all crazy.. back when mutant was a dirty word and got your mouth washed with soap and shushed when you mentioned it.
Like a giant birth defect. Just ignored it plain and proper. Oh, I looked normal on the outside. Couldn't tell I was a mutant from a line up. But give me a gun? I'll shoot anything and everything on the mark. I'm a damn good shot. Got a little bit of extra durability and healing and all that jazz, too.
But I wasn't more than 15 when they took me. I was all by myself just in the big ole back yard. Shooting cans off an old fence rail. I saw a man watch me for a little bit. I didn't recognize him, but I learned better than to draw attention to myself. I shot a couple more cans off the rail and backed up my box of shells and booked it back into the house.
It was that night when they took me. Found myself struggling against some men all dressed up in combat gear. Drugged me and dragged my sorry ass right out of the window. I don't know if they hurt my parents or even if my parents opened the door for 'em. Don't know. Don't care.
I was in that hell hole for just shy of I think two years. Next thing I knew, I was staring into the face of some green haired white lady. Looking like a couple shades south of crazy as all hell. Asked me to "kindly step outside my cell." I knew from the way she talked, she sure as hell wasn't from around here – oh hell, maybe she was. I didn't know where I was. I just knew that I wasn't home. And she didn't sound like home.
When I got out into the hall, only thing I remember were the bodies. Piled up real high like. Ground was slicker than a coon in a hen house. I slipped a little bit, but that lady grabbed my arm and made sure I didn't end up on the ground. You know in the dark, blood coated floors look like oil? I just knew it wasn't oil like in the mechanic shops. Oil sure as hell don't smell like that. All I could think of was that old Johnny Cash song "Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer." That's what happened. That green haired lady helped make those damn soldiers pay for everything. And I wasn't feelin' the least bit poorly 'bout it – no, siree!
When we finally got out of the building – all of us from this area were huddled together like geese—they tossed us all in a plane and got out of the real quick like. I looked out the window for a little bit and sized up the other kids.
I really didn't get to see or talk to them before, but someone of them were crying.. for what, had no idea. I was just peachy. I knew that there people were gonna go and take us somewhere better. I looked at the blue skinned lady. She smiled at me and I just grinned right back. She said she had a daughter bout my age. I asked where she was, she just smiled again and said she was waiting for us to come on back to The Facility. I knew it was capitalized by the way she said it. I asked her if she lived there and she said no. I asked if she and her daughter was going to go home once we got there and she said no again. Said her daughter was staying there. Said she had something to learn and that it was for the best. I knew it was a sensitive subject cause she wasn't smiling anymore. I asked if I could stay with her daughter since I wasn't sure if I had a place to go after this. She looked at me curiously and I felt like I ought to tell her that they all called me Crazy back home and I wasn't in any rush to get going back. Said she looked in my file and said I was gone for awhile – maybe it was different now? I snorted. Said it was a couple years of that way at home.. I doubted a couple years will change their minds anyway. She smiled a little deeper and said the magic words, "I'm sure Nathaniel will be delighted. Of course you need to take it up with him, but I'm sure he will be more than happy to let you join his team."
I grinned like a loon right back at her. I knew right there that that Nathaniel guy was gonna let me stay. Gonna be the first time in my life that someone actually wanted me around. I went back to looking at the window. All the crying and sniffling was ruining my happiness. I was just gonna ignore that until it was time to land. After that, well, after we land I can listen to them. Right now, I gonna enjoy being free from that awful place and riding in my first airplane.
That Nathaniel was really Dr. Essex or Mister Sinister. I guess he looked scary, like a vampire from one of those scary movies. But honestly, I wasn't too scared of him. I knew he was gonna let me stay. Gonna teach me all kinds of stuff and let me work for him. I met the blue lady's daughter, too. Well, she wasn't awake. Apparently she's been in a coma for awhile now. "Healing" they said. Said it was just a little bit longer and she'll be training with me. Until that time, I need to gain some weight and some strength. Said it wasn't going to be a big deal and ate the food they sat in front of me. I ate the two crying kids' dinner, too. They sure as hell weren't going to eat it. Threw it up. Dr Essex just smiled at me. Told me it was going to take time, but I might want to take it easy until I was up the speed. I thought I was in trouble, thought I ruined my chances. He musta read my mind or something and he said the sweetest words I ever heard, "No, child. We need you here. We need you for the team."