Hindsight, part 2.
The night air was filled with tension; it was so thick you could cut it with a knife. I watched passively from on top of a rooftop, watching the scene below. There was a group of mutants, about 7 of them, below in the alley way, doing what any normal American teenager would do; hanging out. A few of them I knew by name, others by power. All those that I now watch knew me from reputation.
To many a human, I was a mutant with extreme powers that needed to be put away for good.
To many a mutant, I was a symbol of sanctuary. I protected those when they needed my help the most.
"Hey, chica, are you thirsty?" my attention was drawn to a young rascal of a boy, who went by the nickname Smoky. His power was the ability to control smoke, which was handy when we needed to make a quick getaway from Hunters."Danke, aber nein." I replied politely, crouching at my perch ten feet above,"I must keep watch."
"You really don't have to, you know." a girl with a quiet disposition, who could emit a high pitch scream that sounded like a siren, remarked as she looked up at me.
"I know, but I must." I simply say, looking back up to check the area. Rumors came across from everywhere about mutants being captured by the Hunters, more being taken each night. I don't know how many of my kind were left, but something was telling me to be extra cautious tonight. There was a slightly warm breeze wafting around, but other than this it was a peaceful night.
Strangely peaceful.
A sudden chill went up my spine, alerting me of something ill-boding on the way. I straightened up from my perch, catching the attention of some below. "Hey, chica; everything all right up there?" Smoky called up to me, he and the other mutants around him standing up. I sniffed the air, much like a dog does, testing it. Something wasn't...there! "Hunters!" I report in a strong voice before leaping down from my perch to the ground, my fall softened by the winds I controlled. "How far are they?" a rather small boy questioned, seeming worried about the news. "Three streets over; you'd better run." I advised them all, "I can hold them off while you escape."
"How are you going to do that?" another asked. I just answered with an assuring smile. It was when I heard the first Hunter vehicle that I started to ensure the other mutants safety. By simple thought I commanded the road beneath it to turn into a quicksand-like liquid. With one vehicle out of the way I turned my attention to the other four. :There is too many for me to fight alone in this place.: I thought to myself, :I need a better playing field.:. I set up a wall of fire to kept the Hunters occupied while I herded the 7 mutants to safety. "There is a safe house nearby for mutants: they can look after you till the Hunters leave." I told them as I led them away, "Just tell them Alenka sent you." If they wanted to protest about the arrangements they didn't have the chance: our path was cut across by three more MRD trucks. "Scheisse!!" I cursed, my head looking back the way we had just come. The remaining four vehicles were advancing on our tail. "Verdammt; das wird zu koordiniert!" I cursed in my native German tongue as I glared at the Hunters exiting their vehicles, "Jemand hat uns aufgestellt!"
"I don't know what you just said but I'm pretty sure I agree with you!" Smoky gulped as he and the others watched in growing horror of the Hunters surrounding us. I had one way out of this, but I couldn't risk it with 7 innocent mutants. "Ich bedauere aufrichtig, meine Kameraden." I told them all before waving my hand in their direction. Several red and blue portals opened up, sucking each mutant into one, leaving me behind. Hopefully, there were at the safe house by now. With a flick of my wrist the portals were gone again, leaving me all by myself to the mercy of the MRD Hunters and to whatever nightmare awaited me. "Gott, helfen Sie mir." I whispered to myself as they approached me.
Everything after that point became dark as I started to wake up.
As soon as my mind was cleared of whatever I was just thinking of, my body jumped an inch off the bed, making me wake up all to suddenly. I blinked my eyes open a split second after my body jumped, but that was short lived when I fell out of the bed and onto the ground. "Gah!" I exclaimed when I landed on the cold hard ground, my legs still entangled in the blanket. As I looked about the room, it came to my attention that I didn't remember where I was. As I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, my arms, legs and stomach were racked with a shot of pain. I winced, the flood of memories coming back, as I rested my forehead on the cool floor. "Scheisse." I cursed softly to myself, "In wie viel Schwierigkeiten kann ich an einem tag kommen?" Seeing as sitting here doing nothing was not going to help me, I gingerly moved my body till I was on my side, able to see the door but this was as far as I could move without writhing in agony. :Oh suck it in, dummkopf.: I scolded myself, :you're a mutant for god sakes:. I took a deep breath in, shut my eyes, and rolled back onto my stomach, placing my hands underneath my body. I gritted my teeth as I slowly forced myself up onto my hands and knees, even if I was shaky terribly. :Come on, Alenka. You can do this.: I urged myself, slowly bringing myself to one foot, then to the next. Using the bed for support I was able to stand up straight, and feel like a brick wall fell on top of me and broke every bone in my body at the same time. "Oh, my head." I groaned, rubbing my brow with my bandaged hand, "Damn Hunters." Pulling my hand from my aching forehead, I slowly shuffled my way to the open door, or as much as I could; both of my legs felt like lead weights.
I just happened to look down at my body, and notice the clothing I was wearing: a men's size large wife beater and sweat pants. Not exactly my choice in bed-wear but at least I wasn't sleeping in blood encrusted clothes. But the thought of who dressed me came to my mind, which I forced out again.
Getting past the door and into the hallway, I ambled carefully down the corridor, leaning against the wall for support. Hopefully Hank was around somewhere; I was starting to feel hungry. It wasn't long till I caught the smell of coffee and food, so I followed my nose to another open door, where the smell was strongest. I braced myself against the wall and looked around the corner. I immediately saw Hank sitting at the table, a mug of coffee dwarfed by his large hand. He was reading a newspaper, a small frown marring his face, with a plate of pancakes beside him. I leaned in a little further and spotted another man inside. He was 5' 10'', with black hair, cool steel grey eyes that seemed tensed. And lots of muscles.
Despite being injured, I felt my teenager hormones kick in, which I immediately quelled. :Now's not the time to be eye-boggling, Fräulein.: I scolded myself for the second time today.
I took a hesitant step into the room and quietly cleared my throat. Both of them looked up at instantly, making me flinch. "Oh, good morning Alenka." Hank immediately smiled, "How did you sleep?"
"Good, considering how achy I feel." I replied, rubbing the side of my face gingerly so as not to aggravate the scar on my cheek, "But I feel better than the other night."
"That's good to hear." Hank smiled then gestured to the other man, "this is Logan, I don't believe the two of you have met properly." I resisted to point out the fact that I was half unconscious and in pain when I was rescued, so I just shook my head at Hank and smiled as best I could at Logan to show my thanks. "Danke, Herr Logan." I said politely.
"Not a problem, kid." He replied in a gruff voice. Hank seemed to think this was acceptable and carried on. "Are you hungry, Alenka?" he asked me as I gingerly sat down on the stool beside Hank, "You're welcome to share my pancakes." I would've gladly accepted, but I don't think my stomach could handle food just yet. :Ah Hölle damit.: I thought. "I am a bit hungry." I admitted with a sheepish smile. Hank just chuckled warmly as he slid the plate and cutlery over to me. "Want something to drink, kid?" Logan offered. "Normally I'd ask for a shot of tequila, but I'll just settle for coffee." I joked weakly, which they both caught. "How do you have it?" he asked.
"Straight black, please." I answered, taking a bite from my pancake-loaded fork.
"Not a morning person then, are we?" Hank asked, a smile on his face.
"Usually I am." I answered, accepting the cup Logan was offering me with both hands, "but with how terrible my body is feeling, I need something with a little zeal." I took a small sip from my cup, feeling the warm liquid sliding down my throat, leaving a stingy after taste. "Now Alenka." Hank started, leaning forward with his elbows on the table as he looked at me, "I've been meaning to ask you last night, but it sort of slipped my mind." I raised my left eyebrow at him questioningly.
"Do you know a mutant by the name of Diego Grün?" Both my eyebrows raised up at his question.
"Diego Grün? Yes, of course: he's my older brother." I answered him, "he uses our mother's maiden name frequently. Why?"
"Just making sure." Logan answered this time, "He was here an hour earlier, making arrangements with us about taking you home. He offered to pick you up"
"But you said you would drop me off instead, ja?" I finished for him, "Understandable. One needs to be careful of who they trust, especially now."
After breakfast and small talk, Hank and Logan escorted me to the stolen MRD helicopter to take me home. My brother had the foresight to bring me a set of spare clothes and shoes for me to change into: a simple white polo shirt and black track pants with penny slippers. Logan had also been generous enough to lend me his jacket, something that was quite warm...and sent my hormones into overdrive again. I sat in the back of the helicopter while Hank and Logan were up front piloting.
"Kid, wake up. Kid?" I flinched as someone called my name, and my eyes grudgingly opened to see Logan looming over me somewhat. The helicopter wasn't moving, so we must've landed. Scheisse, I must've fallen asleep. "Oh, entschuldigung." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes tentatively as I struggled to sit up, "I didn't realize we'd landed."
"It's ok kid." Logan assured me, helping me get to my feet, "we figured you could do with a rest." He got out of the helicopter first then helped me down, only...as soon as my feet touched the ground I swooned a little, nearly sagging to my knees if it hadn't been for Logan holding me up right. :Scheisse, I can't feel anything below my knees.: I cursed to myself, and cursing more creatively for my weakness. "Kid, are you ok?" Logan asked me, his voice right next to my ear.
:Don't pay attention to the fact that your cheek is brushing against his neck, don't pay attention to the fact that your cheek is brushing against his neck!: I ordered myself when I felt a heat rise to my face.
"Not really." I answer, "I can't exactly walk properly." The 'How I was going to get to my house now' question was answered by Logan easily sweeping into his arms. "I'm going to ask you to warn me the next time you do this." I half laughed as my arms found themselves around his neck, "I'm not used to people having to carry me like this."
"I wouldn't get used to it if I were you." he told me, a smirk on his face, "I don't go making habits out something like this." Logan effortlessly carried me to the front of my home; a two story Victorian-era building with a spacious front porch. The garden surrounding it was immaculate and large, with many colorful flowers and variety of species. "Where's Dr. McCoy?" I asked Logan, realizing we were one person short. "He's already inside." Logan informed me, setting my feet down on the porch whilst keeping his arm around my waist to support me, "you little brother Frodo got attached to him." I cringed at the thought of Frodo clinging to Hank, imagining it now. Well Frodo did love fluffy things and the color blue, so when he saw Hank he liked him immediately.
The door opened before I could knock, revealing a petite hour-glass-framed woman with silky brown hair that flowed down to the middle of her back, wearing only a sky blue summer dress with white long sleeves that flared out at the elbow. "Uh...hi mom?" I asked sheepishly as she looked at me with the very typical 'You are in so much trouble, Missy' look that only she could give. She rolled her sky blue eyes and shook her head in a sad manner. "I swear Alenka, you must get your bravery and pig headed-ness from your uncle." she declared as she held the door wide open and helped Logan half drag me inside, "because I never did this sort of thing when I was your age."
"No, she was doing even crazier stunts!" I heard my uncle laugh from the lounge room. My head shrunk into my shoulders a little bit from embarrassment.
Like my brother and I, my mother was also a mutant: she had the powers of healing and visions. She could see into the past, an event in the present and an occasion in the future.
My uncle, on the other hand, was pure human. He was my father's brother, and they both served in a war. How my uncle found I, and the rest of my family, to be mutants was a bit of a long one, which I will not say here.
"So how bad do you feel?" Tobias Jones asked as my mother and Logan dragged me over to the couch to lay down. "How do you think I feel?" I asked him whiningly. Tobias just chuckled quietly as my mother pulled a dark indigo comforter over my body. "You could feel worse." she told me as she lifted the bandage on my right forearm to see how bad the damage was. "Or you could look like Tobias." Diego chirped from the kitchen.
"Hey, watch it fleabag!" my uncle retorted then paused, "Hang on, isn't it nearly time you had a tick bath?"
"You two, enough." my mother spoke before it could escalate, "Diego make yourself useful and get me some herbs from the garden. Tobias, I need a word with you later." The way she said that was serious, and if she used a tone like that then it must be because of something he did or someone he knows.
"Will you be ok, Alenka?" I lifted my head a little bit to see my younger brother Frodo, standing at the door with two large sized dogs on either side of him: one a Pyrenean Mastiff and the other a St Bernard. Frodo was easily dwarfed by their sizes. The Pyrenean Mastiff was named Fritz, meaning peaceful ruler in German, and he was 38 inches at the shoulder, a cream color coat with a black mask and ears. The St. Bernard was named Aimery, meaning Bravery and powerful, and he was 35 and a half inches at the shoulder, with a red coat and white and black patches over his back, and around the face and ears. Frodo had sandy blond hair that fell into his eyes which were bright green. Usually Frodo was a bundle of laughter, but now he looked at me in concern.
"Ja, Frodo." I managed to smile a little, "I will be." he smiled back, a great big cheeky one.
"That's ok, cos then I'd have to make you feel ok." he threatened cutely, making me giggle, which my mother caught. "It's hard keeping a straight face around Frodo." Tobias told Logan and Hank (the latter just entering the room now), "He's too darn cute."
"I like my cuteness!" Frodo pouted.
"Just means you can get away with trouble." I muttered quietly. He just clasped his hands behind his back and looked at me innocently. Which made me worry. "Oh no, what did you do this time?" I asked him. He didn't say a word, but the two dogs bowed their heads in shame. "Aimery got into your drawers again." my mother told me.
"What?!" I nearly shrieked in horror, sitting bolt up right. Tobias roared with laughter, and all Logan and Hank did was smirk. Aimery had a nasty habit of getting into my personal drawer and exploring what I had in there, which was incredibly embarrassing at times. The embarrasment nearly made me forget about my abused stomach, but it didn't take long for it to remind me that sitting up so quickly was a bad idea.
"It happened before you three arrived." my mother assured me as she gently pushed down on my shoulders, "Now don't worry about anything and try to relax." Relaxing was not really top of my list at the moment, considering how icky I feel and look, not to mention Tobias was still laughing at me. Something which my mother picked up on. "Let's get you cleaned up before I start healing you." she said as she patted the top of my head, "You'll feel a lot better. Tobias, stop laughing at my poor daughter. She doesn't need you heckling her."
"Yeah, leave her alone!" Frodo agreed, trying to look serious, "Or I'll get Mr. Hank to teach you a lesson on manners!" I couldn't help but laugh myself, just like Logan who chuckled. "I love you, munchkin." I told Frodo as he smiled his infamous big toothy grin at me.
"Me too." He grinned, then gave me a pouting serious face and pointed at the stairs, "You know the drill Missy!" my mother and I giggled, but he had a point.
"Right." I agreed, half stifling a yawn.
"You need to get some serious sleep, Lenny." Tobias pointed out to me, "So don't even think about trying to sneak out for late night patrol duty or work."
"Pingelig, pingelig, pingelig. Fine, I'm invalid." I pouted as Diego came in, carrying a cup of tea.
"You'll be sleepy and doped up after this, I'll tell ya." he smirked as he passed me the cup, "chug it all, you."
"Idiot des Yankees-fied." I muttered in German before drinking the liquid all in one go, and immediately felt the effects. Everything was starting too feel weird, and funky. "Ugh." I groaned, rubbing my forehead, "I feel I've been drugged." I felt the cup slip from my hands, but I didn't hear it break on the ground so I'm assuming someone caught it.
"Pain numbing tea, it helps to be a herbalist." my mother commented and winked at Logan and Hank. While Diego carried me upstairs to the bathroom, followed by my mother, I could hear Tobias offering Hank and Logan a cup of coffee. "After you have a shower Alenka, you're going straight to bed." My mother told me as she placed a waterproof stool in the shower and turned on the water. Normally I'd shower myself, but seeing as I could barely stand up on my two feet I was going to need help. I didn't really mind Diego being here as well, seeing as how I saw him plenty of times naked when he was sick or injured.
After having the bandages and patches changed over for cleaner ones (my mother can only heal in stages, not at once), my hair dried and into soft clean pajamas I was put into my bed and the blankets pulled up to my chin. "Anything you need, Schwester?" Diego asked me as sat on the edge of my bed. I shook my head no, feeling really tired and needing a sleep. He smiled gently and playfully poked my nose. "I'll leave the TV remote on your beside side." He informed me as he got up, "Now got to sleep." I nodded slowly, feeling my eyes lids grow heavier by the second. I was vaguely aware of the curtains being pulled closed and the light turned off, but my bedroom door stayed partially open. "If you need anything, give me a call." Diego whispered before he left. A few seconds later the door opened again, and I heard the padding of paws coming into my room. There was added weight on the end of my bed before I felt a head pressed against my stomach carefully and another by left knee. Aimery and Fritz had come to keep me company while I slept.
~*.*~
When I was feeling much more better the next day (I still can't believe I slept that long. I didn't get to say good bye to Hank and Logan) Frodo came into my room with Fritz. I guess Aimery had gotten into the garden again and needed a bath, going by the distressed whimpers and laughing Tobias and Diego. "Hi Alenka." he smiled as he climbed onto my bed and sat beside me on my right, "how are you?"
"Better." I smiled at him, placing my book mark at my current spot and placing the book on the bedside table, "my and stomach legs are healed, though I'm stuck with the scars. Other than that, I'm good."
"Awesome." Frodo nodded while Fritz woofed in his low voice.
"So what brings you two up here?" I asked as Fritz climbed onto my bed and lay down on my left, his head down by my knees. "Not much." Frodo shrugged, "can we watch TV with you?" I answered by smiling and reaching for the remote beside me. "Let's see what's on." I said and pressed the power button. The flat screen TV on my chest of drawers that was beside the door turned on, and the first thing on was a press conference by Senator Kelly about... "Mutant registration?" Frodo and I asked at the same time. "What does that mean?" Frodo asked me, his 6 year old innocence coming out. I swallowed a hard lump before I could answer him. "It means anyone who's a mutant is going to have to give the government their names, and what their powers are." I explained before looking at him, "meaning no one would be safe anymore." We watched the conference, listening to what the government was doing this time, when suddenly pandemonium struck. Something was attacking the senator, and before we knew a group of people wearing yellow uniforms was inside, taking on the soldiers. "Oh no, don't do that!" Frodo cried out to the TV, "that mean senator is gonna get even meaner!" I stared at the chaos on the TV screen, trying to remember why the yellow uniforms were so familiar to me. Then it clicked. "That is not good." I said softly, "They've been set up." Frodo looked back at me, confused. "I recognise one of them; it's Logan." I explained, "they're a group of mutant who want peace between mutants and humans, so they protect both sides. If the X-men are there, then someone must've threatened Kelly's life."
"So...Logan and Hank are the good guys?" Frodo asked slowly. I nodded and watched the rest of the mayhem on the screen. It ended shortly after with the X-men retreating. Two hours later Senator Kelly was back on the screen, announcing that the Mutant Registration act would be signed tomorrow. I pressed the power button on the remote control, the screen going black. I sat in silence, Frodo and Fritz just watching me. Now that the Registration act was a given, mutants all around the area were going to have a tough time trying to hide. I wonder how Logan was feeling now? "Alenka?" I looked down at Frodo, who was holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Mr. Logan said it was ok if you wanted to call him." he said as he handed me the paper, "that's his number." I gingerly took the paper from his hand, seeing the number written down as well as the name. I felt the bed lurch a little as Frodo got up and left the room to give me some privacy. I reached over to my bedside table for my mobile, keying in the number and pressing the call button. Fritz stayed by my side, his head resting on my thigh as he looked at me with his soulful dark brown eyes. My hand rubbed his head while I waited patiently for the other end to pick up. It only took eight rings before there was a click. "Hello?" A deep gravelly and familiar voice asked, also sounding a little annoyed. "Guten tag, Herr Logan, it's Alenka." I identified in a trying-to-be-cheerful-voice. "Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" He asked, his tone lighter, more friendly.
"Better; my legs and stomach are healed." I informed him, "I'll be up and walking by the end of the week. What about you?" there was a deep heavy sigh on the other end, signifying that Logan was having it tough. "Had better days." he replied, "did you see the news?"
"About the Registration act; ja, I saw it." I nodded, despite being on the phone, "what will happen now?"
"Honestly, I don't know kid." Logan answered, sounding like the weight of the world was on his shoulders, "I really don't know." There was a silence between us as I tried thinking of something positive to tell him, but anything I had was gone from my mind. "Kid, I sorry about what happened." Logan finally told me.
"What do you mean?" I asked him.
"You being hurt by the MRD's, for one." he answered, "Two, because of me the Registration act with go ahead, meaning families like yours are in danger. If I hadn't of stepped in none of this would be happening."
"Oh Logan, don't you dare blame yourself for this." I told him gently, "None of this was your fault. Me being hurt by the Hunters; that was my doing. The Registration act; if the X-men hadn't of been there and the Brotherhood really did attack then we'd have bigger problems than some act of government."
"Still, your family is in danger." Logan pointed out, "You'll need to find somewhere safe to live now."
"Don't worry about my family, Herr Logan. We'll find a way." I assured him, "But the main thing is you can't let something like this hold you back. It's not worth it. The thing that really matters now is that you keep helping people, mutant or not. Even in a world as imperfect as ours, there is always going to be a need of heroes." I paused to let my words sink in before adding the hopeful clincher, "And I can't think of a finer group of mutants to do the job." Logan was silent on the other end of the phone, but I could sense that he was thinking about what I was telling him. Hopefully he'd take it to heart.
"Thanks Alenka." he finally said, "That means a lot."
"Happy to help." I smiled, "Besides it's an endearing trait from my grandmother: always make a friend smile, for that is worth more than all the treasures in the world. And I intend on keeping to that saying, so the next time I see you, there better be a smile the size of Mexico on your face."
"And if not?" Logan challenged playfully.
"Oh trust me, you'll know if you haven't been smiling enough." I assured him with a laugh.
"Alenka, are you threatening Logan to smile more?" My mother called from down the hall.
"No." I replied, realizing I had accidently pressed the loud speaker button as well as the call button, "Oops."
"Well make sure you do!" she told me, "that man needs to smile more; it's not becoming for a handsome man like him to have so many frown lines." I gawked to myself before pressing my hand against my mouth to stop giggling.
"All right, I heard you ladies." Logan chuckled.
"You'd better keep your word, Mister Hero." I said cheekily, "otherwise I'll make you smile."
German- English
Danke, aber nein= Thank you, but no.
Verdammt; das wird ze koordiniert= Dammit; this is to co-ordinated.
Jemand hat un aufgestellt= Somebody has set us up.
Gott, helfen Sie mir= God, help me.
In wie viel Schwierigkeiten kann ich an einem Tag kommen= How much trouble can I get into in one day?
Ah Hölle damit= Ah hell with it.
Oh, entshuldigung= Oh, sorry.
Pingelig, Pingelig, pingelig= Picky, picky, picky.
Idiot des Yankees-fied= Yankee-fied moron. (Now I apologize if I upset any Americans with this one, but I am writing in Alenka's view point, and since she's German, this is something she would say but only to her brother.)
