She was spinning too fast. Too fast for her mind to keep up in any way that she tried, she was just moving far too fast. The room spun around her and she could only see the blurs in the mirrored walls. Her body was rotating too fast and everyone knew it. So her body hitting the floor was expected. The sound that came wasn't though. The sickening crack wasn't her bones, no it was the floor beneath her. Elizabeth wanted to blush. She wanted to apologize. She couldn't though. She'd be apologizing for being who and what she was. To apologize for that was like handing them a bone to taunt her with and that's all that the humans in the room needed, something that they could hold over her. She sat on the floor with her eyes closed and her legs drawn around her as she tried to calm. If she didn't her claws would slip out and then there would be way more problems than just trying to get a spin right. Her focus would once again be on staying alive and nothing else.
"Too fast," her teacher said in a tone that made Elizabeth wish her claws were out. She wanted to gut her so bad. She wanted to feel her bleed. This teacher wasn't staying hers for much longer. "You need to slow your turns down a little bit if you expect to keep your body going."
She meant about the weight. Elizabeth knew that she was heavier than the other girls. A bone structure made purely of diamond did that to a girl. She couldn't help what lie beneath her skin. She wished she could though. Once again Elizabeth was reminded of why she wished she wasn't herself. Once again she was reminded of the reason she wanted to be human. Rubbing her wrists as though they hurt her she stood without the use of them and moved to leave. She wouldn't take being treated like dirt by some unknown. She couldn't even remember this teacher's name and she sure as hell wasn't planning on ever remembering it. Didn't matter anyways now, the lady wasn't going to be her teacher anymore. Elizabeth was finding a new one.
Slamming the door behind her, the sound of shattering followed her. She'd closed the door too hard again. That was what happened when she was mad. No that was what happened when she was ticked. She was beyond mad, she was probably beyond ticked. Elizabeth Adler was plain pissed off. All she wanted was to turn right back around and give the woman a reason to fear mutants. Maybe then she wouldn't treat them like dirt. Then again, who was to say that she would be alive after she was done. Elizabeth wasn't certain that she wanted the lady breathing. Six feet below sounded like the best place for the bitch. She needed to calm down. If she didn't she'd regret whatever she did next.
"Pissed again?"
The question would have made any normal human jump but Elizabeth wasn't human, nor was she normal. Instead she turned slowly to face the girl who had spoken to her. Pale blue eyes took in the girl that she had known since her third year of living. Miss Stacey McKenna was every bit the Irish girl that her last name suggested. Long red hair that normally fell down to her mid-back was currently held tightly into the signature ballerina bun that gave away what they constantly strived to achieve. Bright green eyes sparkled, showing the love that she had for the art of it all. She was tall and thin. Stacey was the perfect ballerina to this academy.
"Well at least this time it's for good reason," the redhead said as she looked into the slightly shattered door's window at the ranting teacher. "She's a bitch in the first place."
The two had respect for each other but that didn't mean that they talked about things and had crying fests. They were athletes. Athletes in a sport that paired the two of them against each other, Stacey in all of her liveliness and Elizabeth with her precision, each other's foils in every way. So all that Stacey received for her comment was a nod from Elizabeth as she hoisted her bag higher on her shoulder and the two left each other be. That was the way it had always been. One would say something and the other would end the conversation. On the bright side, Stacey had no problem with Elizabeth being mutant. Still, that little fact wasn't going to bond them together as friends right off the bat. They were competitors.
Any normal human would have been worn out but Elizabeth kept running. She loved the professor for allowing her to use the danger room for a simple jog. She wasn't sure how long she'd been running but she knew it was far longer than any human or most mutants could last. Her breathing was normal and steady and she thanked the dancing gods that she had amazing endurance. Running allowed her to think. Thinking kept her from destroying things and the professor knew that. She'd come back cussing, angrier than most anyone in the school had seen. Her mind was slipping away when the professor threw her in there and told her to run. His abilities came in handy for something's she realized. He kept her from destroying things. After another few miles she assumed she slowed to a stop. Sweat clung to her body, mixing with the sweat from dancing. Standing in the now sterile room in only shorts, sports bra, and tennis shoes made her shiver slightly.
"Everyone can see you're pissed," Samantha's voice rang from the door to her sister's room. "Just tell me, did the new teacher say something?"
Elizabeth just glared at the younger girl before pushing her out of her way. She didn't have time for this. She didn't have time for any of this. She should be dancing. She should be training. She should be doing anything but standing around talking about idiots who didn't deserve to live. She felt the anger spike again and screamed in frustration before closing the door. The splintering sound that followed made her swear even louder. She couldn't do anything right today. She needed to calm down somehow. Dancing hadn't worked. Running hadn't worked. The cold shower wasn't currently working.
The cold water did nothing for dispelling the hot anger than ran through her veins. It did cool down her body temperature though. Letting the ice flow over her body she found herself trying to think, trying to stop from overreacting. It wasn't a big deal. It was just a bad day. She'd fire her teacher and hire a new one. That was just how it always went. She'd dance, she'd get pissed, she'd dance some more, she'd fire whoever made her mad. Yeah, that was something she got from her mom. Looking down at her naked body she found her anger being replaced by self consciousness. She looked at the scars that littered her pale skin, the veins on her legs, the stretch marks, and the faint sparkle that could even be seen through her skin. A constant reminder that she wasn't normal that seemed to outshine everything marring her body for eternity, as if it wasn't bad enough just being mutant.
Slowing down Elizabeth sat on the steps in the entry way, watching the people move by her and run about to class. Most avoided her after her nice little display that morning and she didn't blame them, she didn't want to even look at herself. Who would want to? She'd acted without thinking. Her entire mind had been on the attack and on the kill. She was a monster. She knew she was the monster her mother had always thought her to be. She could only mask it with grace and elegance for so long. Deep inside her lived a monster, waiting until a moment of weakness to break free from the bonds that she used to trap it. She knew the bonds wouldn't hold forever.
"Feeling better?" the voice was kind but once again Elizabeth hadn't sensed her. She must be getting rusty or something! No one ever snuck up on her! "You seemed to be a bit out of sorts this morning."
Looking up at the woman Elizabeth called a weather witch, she found herself looking into eyes that held worry and concern. Ororo Munro was worried about her! Well, something's aren't as they seem apparently!
"I don't know what came over me," Elizabeth admitted, her voice soft and all the ice melted from it. "It was like I no longer existed and instead there was a monster controlling me."
She saw raw worry flash through the older woman's eyes and instantly regretted saying anything. She should have just kept her mouth shut. She never kept her stupid mouth shut. She'd say something and make everyone hate her. She'd let something slip that put everything in jeopardy. She listened to the murmured apology and watched the older woman slip away as quickly as possible. She couldn't mistake the look in her eyes as she ran. Fear was all that Elizabeth could see in the weather witch's face.
"No one understands," she whimpered to herself, hands pulling at her hair slightly even though the strands wouldn't break. Pain and then release as she felt her claws release, the feeling of cool blood running down her hands as the tension released. Then she started to shake as she dropped her hands to her side, she couldn't get her medicine and she would bleed out if she didn't. She needed her medicine. It was in her pocket.
More blood flowed from her hands as she tried to keep from bleeding on the floor. She couldn't find anyone and she was becoming dizzy, faint even. The room was becoming brighter, spinning. Everything was fading. Everything was tipping. She was fading and she was dying.
"Help," she whispered before darkness hit her and she collapsed to the ground.
The sound of beeping and hushed voices welcomed Elizabeth back along with the rush of a throbbing headache. The room smelled way too sterile for her likes and she almost gagged at the taste in her mouth. She hated waking up after her spells. Maybe one day her blood loss would be way too much for her body to handle and she'd die on the floor. Maybe that day would come some day. Trying to sit up, she found she couldn't move and panic set in. Struggling against the bindings she felt the same pain and release as her claws once again ripped through her skin. Twice in a day that she'd lost control, at least she assumed it was the same day.
"Woah," she heard the calming voice and caught the scent at the same time she felt hands hold her down. "You're far too weak to move. It would be beneficial for you to lie still and not to let these things out."
Her body slouching again the male she found herself fading again, she didn't have the strength to fight against him or the massage that he was giving her hands. Her claws sunk back into her skin and she felt the needle enter her arm. Almost instantly she could feel the muscles and skin regrow and scar over like nothing had ever happened. But she could never forget it was far too painful of a thing to forget.
"Quite the ability you've got there," she could focus now and could see that the man was blue. She wasn't sure if she was seeing things from blood loss or if the man holding her was actually blue. "Similar to other's I've seen but different in a wonderful way."
"What?" she asked, sarcasm practically dripping from her voice as she continued. "I bleed out from diamond exposure?"
The man looked at her as she stayed seated on the table. He was sitting she now noticed, he wasn't holding her any more. She must be out of it. Her wits were slowly returning to her and she began to notice things. Like the fact that she'd broken her bonds that had been holding her to the table. Like the fact that there was an IV in her arm with a bag of what looked like blood transfusing into her body. Like the fact that she was in her second home while she'd attended school, the medical ward.
"Oh no," he said as he moved to check to see that the blood was working properly in her body. "Your bones are purely made of diamonds yet your body functions normally in the absence of a healing factor. It's quite amazing. Oh forgive me; I have forgotten to introduce myself. My name is Henry McCoy but you may call me Hank."
"Elizabeth," she said, her hands itching to rip the IV from her arm as she sat there. She hated hospitals or even offices; they all smelled the same to her. The all smelled too sterile for her tastes. "Just Elizabeth."
The guy, Hank, she now realized actually was blue. She could see the fur that ran along his skin, almost like that of a cat's she figured, shaded a hue of bright blue. He reminded her of the bubble gum she'd once chewed when she was younger. That was probably a bad analogy but with her mind as fogged up as it was that was all Elizabeth could think about. Her entire body felt like lead and she couldn't imagine moving even as he told her not to. She'd never felt this way, not once. Sure, she'd constantly dealt with the sluggish feeling after having to get transfusions but this time it was stronger.
"Woah," she was about to protest the arms around her as the room spun but couldn't find her voice. Slowly everything started fading and the only thing she could feel was the cold, metal table pressing into her face and something soft and warm holding her.
If she had a tail it would've been swishing by now. It was all her fault. She shouldn't have said anything to her older sister. Maybe then she wouldn't have freaked out and she wouldn't have let her control slip. But she'd never seen Elizabeth look so weak, bleeding and unconscious. Her face had been so pale, paler than usual, and she looked almost dead. The blood sliding down her claws and hands as some man carried her through as quickly as possible. Samantha knew deep down that it wasn't her fault but still. To see her sister bleeding and dying made her want to throw up or worse cry. Adler women didn't cry. At least they didn't cry in public. They didn't show weakness but seeing her sister like that. She couldn't focus in the training. She couldn't focus in class. Eventually her teachers just gave up for the day.
Looking into the sterile area she felt a knot grown in her stomach as she saw her sister laying on the metal table with tubes running through her. She could remember when she was younger seeing the exact same thing when the attacks first started and the memories just made it worse. Leaning against the doorframe for some type of support she choked back her tears as she watched her sleeping sister. How peaceful the older Adler child looked as she appeared to be dying, the thought of how peaceful she would appear dead unwontedly slipped into Samantha's mind and a tear slid down her face.
"She's stable," the voice made Samantha jump, her hand going to her heart before she turned to look at the man who'd spoke. The first thing that registered was the blue fur that covered his body. The second was how short she felt next to him. "She just needs to rest but she'll be fine tomorrow. We had quite a scare there. Her body rejected his blood for a while there but eventually she came around." He turned from the screen he'd been staring at the entire time she'd been there. "You two look just a like you know."
Samantha shook her head before looking at her sleeping sister. "No we don't," she said softly. "I look like our mother and she looks like our father. We look nothing alike."
"You have the same nose," the man said with a shrug before turning back to the computer.
A gasping noise could be heard and again Samantha jumped, watching as her sister seemed to come back to life. Her pale hand pulled the breathing machine from her mouth and slowly she sat up before the blue man helped her pull herself up. Elizabeth's pale blue eyes slid to her sister and instantly turned cold.
"You go and squeal to mom," she said, her voice sounding harsher than ever. "I'll kill you even if it kills me."
Samantha froze and didn't even stay to hear what the blue man was saying to her sister. She just ran. When Elizabeth made a threat, she meant it. It killed Samantha to know that her older sister had just threatened to kill her. Even worse was the fact that she didn't trust her at all. Then again why would she? All that Samantha had done was everything that their mother had ever wanted her to. That wasn't good in Elizabeth's eyes. Being Allison's watchdog didn't make good standings with the oldest daughter but Samantha hadn't thought that she'd hold that big of a grudge. Sure Elizabeth had never gotten along with the Adler matriarch but she'd figured that was where the grudge ended. That the anger she held was only for their mother. Apparently she was wrong.
Sliding down a wall somewhere, she'd gotten herself lost on one of the school's many floors, she ran her hands through her hair. Yes she and Elizabeth hadn't gotten along in a long, long time but things had never gotten so bad that they would threaten each other. As hard as she tried, she started crying at the thought. Was her sister really that far lost? Was their mother right about her? Elizabeth couldn't just be a monster left in that shell of a body. There had to be more to her than that. Samantha knew deep down that there had to be.
The feeling of a hand stroking her back made her almost jump but through her tears she didn't care anymore. Tear streaked eyes found their way to look up at the brunet who was smiling down at her. She didn't know her but the girl was kind enough to stop and care for her. That's all that mattered.
"She didn't mean it," the girl said sitting down next to her. Samantha tipped her head at the girl, how did she know? "Sorry," the girl seemed to stop to clarify. "Telepath. I can't really control it yet. But trust me, she didn't mean it. She's just stressed out and tired. I'm Kara, Samantha. Sorry again."
Samantha found herself smiling through her tears at the girl. The fact that this Kara could read her mind was actually pretty cool. Maybe this place wasn't too bad.
"She meant it," the feral said as she laid her hands on her arms.
"We all get that way sometimes. It's part of being a feral."
"Feral?" The word sounded foreign to Samantha as she watched the girl hold out her hands and her nails grew.
"We're more animal than human."