This chapter is dedicated to Sashi, who beta'd this chapter for me! And I'd also like to thank all of you who take the time to review. It may sound silly, but getting reviews from those who enjoy what I write makes my day!
Hugs!
~Bronwynne
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The black limousine pulled up behind the shiny red sports car in front of a modest home. Xavier watched as Trask quickly got out of his car and slammed the door shut. He started to walk up the front steps, but grunted in annoyance and walked back to the limo.
The driver of the limo had already exited the vehicle and was opening the door. Trask wasn't sure, but he swore he could hear the man growling as he approached. Trask was about to say something when a loud crashing inside the house drew his attention. Across the street, Evelyn Pierce was putting a bag of garbage in her trashcan. She eyed Trask with distaste. Trask glared at his neighbor and pointedly spun on his heel and walked briskly to the house, already knowing who was causing the trouble. He really disliked Evelyn, she was always inviting Claire over and giving her treats and buying her gifts. He'd remembered the time he had taken the sweater she had bought Claire back to her house and shoved it back in her arms.
"I provide enough for Claire without you having to. You act like I'm depriving her. Don't do this again or you'll be sorry."
Undaunted, Evelyn had yelled back, "I see how you treat your younger child, like she's an inconvenience and you can't be bothered with her. For god's sake, you make her sleep in the attic!"
Trask had responded by shoving the woman back a step, and saying one more time, through clenched teeth with his eyes blazing with anger.
"Don't give Claire anything else."
"Is that a threat?" she had answered, her own eyes glittering with anger.
"Yes."
Shaking his head, Trask burst through the front door and saw Alice and Claire in the living room. A vase lay shattered on the floor.
"Father! You're home! I'm so glad! Claire went nuts and threw that vase at my head!" Alice yelled, jumping over the couch, hiding behind Trask, her eyes shining with malice.
"No I didn't! You threw it on the ground to get me in trouble!" Claire protested.
"Claire, we both know Alice doesn't lie. Clean it up or there will be hell to pay."
Claire glared at her sister, and began to clean up the shattered remains of the blue glass vase. A light rapping on the door had her jerking her head back up. "Who's that?"
"Damnation," Trask muttered under his breath, walking to the door and throwing it open.
"Claire, this is the school psychiatrist. Your principal wanted him to talk to you. Now do it and for God's sake, don't say anything stupid."
Xavier wheeled into the room and immediately picked up on the intense emotions of the family. Intense hatred on the part of Alice towards Claire, and as well as the hatred Claire felt for Alice and her father. Trask sat on the overstuffed chair, Alice perched herself on the arm of the chair and grinned.
"Awww, poor Claire. Even the school thinks you're crazy."
Xavier hid his disgust with the smug brunette teenager and her father. "If you don't mind. I'd like to talk to Claire by herself. This isn't family therapy."
Grumbling, Alice shot another evil grin at Claire and bounded out of the room, heading for the kitchen, with Trask reluctantly following.
Sighing, Xavier turned his full attention onto Claire. He gave her a warm smile, and felt her tension dissipate.
"Are they always like this my dear?" he asked her.
"Sometimes they are worse." Claire mumbled.
"You know why I'm here, don't you, Claire?"
"Yes. Everyone thinks I'm crazy."
Xavier tilted his head slightly and gave her an appraising look. "I do not think you are crazy. If I may be as bold to say that I think you have a gift. "
Claire gave Xavier a puzzled glance. "What do you mean?"
Xavier wheeled his chair closer to the couch where Claire was sitting. He put his left hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. Slightly unnerved, Claire got fidgety.
"It's ok Claire. I won't hurt you. Just sit still and relax."
Unable to disobey the only person to show her the least bit of kindness besides Evelyn, Claire did as Xavier asked.
Xavier concentrated and saw the pain and suffering this poor child had endured from her birth. He saw her father lavishing gifts, love and attention on her sister, while ignoring the needs of his other child. He saw a blonde woman in a photograph whom he assumed was her departed mother. After searching around for a few minutes, he found what he needed.
Cerebro was right, he thought to himself, removing his hand from her forehead.
"Well? Am I ok?" Claire asked, her voice trembling a bit.
"Of course Claire, you are just fine. It's as I suspected. Claire, have you witnesses occurrences you can't seem to explain?"
"How so?"
"Like seeing the school building on fire and projecting that image onto the rest of the student body?" Xavier asked with a small smile.
"Oh. That. I don't know how that happened."
"I do. Claire, do you remember a few years ago when a young boy mistakenly blew the wall out of a nearby school building?"
"Yeah. They said lasers came out of his eyes. Dad and Alice said he was a freak and should be terminated."
Xavier frowned. This complicated matters. He knew he wasn't going to be able to leave this child in this home once she completely figured out what was wrong with her. Reaching out and taking her hand, he leaned forward. Claire leaned in as well; the older man looked like he needed to tell her a secret.
"Claire. The images you see in your head, that's not just your imagination. I believe you are in the process of developing powers of your own. From what I saw in your mind, and what happened today, I believe you have the power to alter the reality in the minds of others."
A loud gasp came from the hallway and Xavier felt Alice's presence.
"DAD! COME QUICK! THE BALD MAN SAID CLAIRE WAS ONE OF THOSE FREAKS!"
Trask came storming into the room, turning his icy glare on Xavier, he hissed, "Leave now, you abomination. Leave before I kill you with my bare hands."
"I'm not leaving this child with you. Let me take her to my school...." Xavier began to say.
"LEAVE!" Trask roared, charging at Xavier, but being blocked by the man who had helped him out of the limo.
"Wanna try that again? Bub?" a menacing man growled, large metal claws suddenly shooting out from the top of his hands.
"Get. OUT!" Trask roared again, not caring he could easily be made into shish-kabob by this new man.
"Let me take Claire."
"No. I'll deal with her." Trask settled his menacing glare on his frightened child, Alice in the hallway, her eyes glowing with satisfaction.
"You won't be able to weasel out of this one, baby sister."
Not wanting to leave a defenseless 10 year old with her outraged family, Logan pushed Xavier out of the house.
"Logan. We can't just leave her here."
"Charles, we have no choice. She'll come to us if she can."
Xavier sighed with dread as he heard the screams from inside. Bowing his head, he hoped Claire would make it through this and find him. Logan started the limo and slowly drove out of the driveway.
Once Xavier and Logan were gone, Trask advanced on a terrified Claire.
"FILTH! ABOMINATION! LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" he yelled as he repeatedly struck Claire's face and body. She yelped in pain and tried to cover her face. Not satisfied with hitting her with his hands, he threw the matching glass vase at Claire, it shattering against her bare legs, creating many small lacerations. Blood began to spill from her wounds and she felt her left eye beginning to blacken.
"DAD! PLEASE STOP!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. She tried to choke back sobs, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe.
Trask responded by grabbing by her hair and dragging her to the back door. Throwing her out into the night, he howled, "Leave and never come back! You are not my daughter!"
Claire continued to cry on the wet grass as Trask stalked away. Alice walked to the back door, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. Reaching to grasp the screen door, she said snidely, "Claire don't live here anymore." She then slammed the door shut and the sound of her laughter could be heard as she walked away.
Claire picked herself off the wet grass, her legs in pain and bleeding everywhere. Stumbling down the driveway, she made it to Evelyn's front door. She had just lifted her hand to knock when the door flew open.
"Claire! Child! What did he do to you?" Evelyn pulled the frightened child into the living room. She sat Claire down on a chair and patted her arm.
"Claire, honey, I'm going to go into the bathroom and get something to help the cuts on your legs."
Unable to speak through her tears, Claire just nodded and Evelyn walked away. She felt the rage building up inside her. The nerve of Trask treating Elizabetha's child like that! How Elizabetha would be spinning in her grave. She quickly made her way to the phone and hit memory 1.
"Alexei? It's Evelyn. It happened. He found out what she is."
After a slight pause, she said, "He hurt her pretty bad. I'm going to treat her wounds and I'll escort her down to you as soon as possible. He probably knows she's here. The sooner we leave the better."
She hung the phone up with a sigh and rubbed her temples. She knew this day would come, she had promised Elizabetha on her dying bed that she'd always keep an eye on Claire.
"Bolivar doesn't know she's not his. Keep an eye on her please. Bolivar can be so cruel sometimes."
"Of course I will. Now rest." Elizabetha had died ten minutes later, just after she named her newborn daughter Claire.
Now it was time to take Claire where she belonged.
Hugs!
~Bronwynne
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The black limousine pulled up behind the shiny red sports car in front of a modest home. Xavier watched as Trask quickly got out of his car and slammed the door shut. He started to walk up the front steps, but grunted in annoyance and walked back to the limo.
The driver of the limo had already exited the vehicle and was opening the door. Trask wasn't sure, but he swore he could hear the man growling as he approached. Trask was about to say something when a loud crashing inside the house drew his attention. Across the street, Evelyn Pierce was putting a bag of garbage in her trashcan. She eyed Trask with distaste. Trask glared at his neighbor and pointedly spun on his heel and walked briskly to the house, already knowing who was causing the trouble. He really disliked Evelyn, she was always inviting Claire over and giving her treats and buying her gifts. He'd remembered the time he had taken the sweater she had bought Claire back to her house and shoved it back in her arms.
"I provide enough for Claire without you having to. You act like I'm depriving her. Don't do this again or you'll be sorry."
Undaunted, Evelyn had yelled back, "I see how you treat your younger child, like she's an inconvenience and you can't be bothered with her. For god's sake, you make her sleep in the attic!"
Trask had responded by shoving the woman back a step, and saying one more time, through clenched teeth with his eyes blazing with anger.
"Don't give Claire anything else."
"Is that a threat?" she had answered, her own eyes glittering with anger.
"Yes."
Shaking his head, Trask burst through the front door and saw Alice and Claire in the living room. A vase lay shattered on the floor.
"Father! You're home! I'm so glad! Claire went nuts and threw that vase at my head!" Alice yelled, jumping over the couch, hiding behind Trask, her eyes shining with malice.
"No I didn't! You threw it on the ground to get me in trouble!" Claire protested.
"Claire, we both know Alice doesn't lie. Clean it up or there will be hell to pay."
Claire glared at her sister, and began to clean up the shattered remains of the blue glass vase. A light rapping on the door had her jerking her head back up. "Who's that?"
"Damnation," Trask muttered under his breath, walking to the door and throwing it open.
"Claire, this is the school psychiatrist. Your principal wanted him to talk to you. Now do it and for God's sake, don't say anything stupid."
Xavier wheeled into the room and immediately picked up on the intense emotions of the family. Intense hatred on the part of Alice towards Claire, and as well as the hatred Claire felt for Alice and her father. Trask sat on the overstuffed chair, Alice perched herself on the arm of the chair and grinned.
"Awww, poor Claire. Even the school thinks you're crazy."
Xavier hid his disgust with the smug brunette teenager and her father. "If you don't mind. I'd like to talk to Claire by herself. This isn't family therapy."
Grumbling, Alice shot another evil grin at Claire and bounded out of the room, heading for the kitchen, with Trask reluctantly following.
Sighing, Xavier turned his full attention onto Claire. He gave her a warm smile, and felt her tension dissipate.
"Are they always like this my dear?" he asked her.
"Sometimes they are worse." Claire mumbled.
"You know why I'm here, don't you, Claire?"
"Yes. Everyone thinks I'm crazy."
Xavier tilted his head slightly and gave her an appraising look. "I do not think you are crazy. If I may be as bold to say that I think you have a gift. "
Claire gave Xavier a puzzled glance. "What do you mean?"
Xavier wheeled his chair closer to the couch where Claire was sitting. He put his left hand on her forehead and closed his eyes. Slightly unnerved, Claire got fidgety.
"It's ok Claire. I won't hurt you. Just sit still and relax."
Unable to disobey the only person to show her the least bit of kindness besides Evelyn, Claire did as Xavier asked.
Xavier concentrated and saw the pain and suffering this poor child had endured from her birth. He saw her father lavishing gifts, love and attention on her sister, while ignoring the needs of his other child. He saw a blonde woman in a photograph whom he assumed was her departed mother. After searching around for a few minutes, he found what he needed.
Cerebro was right, he thought to himself, removing his hand from her forehead.
"Well? Am I ok?" Claire asked, her voice trembling a bit.
"Of course Claire, you are just fine. It's as I suspected. Claire, have you witnesses occurrences you can't seem to explain?"
"How so?"
"Like seeing the school building on fire and projecting that image onto the rest of the student body?" Xavier asked with a small smile.
"Oh. That. I don't know how that happened."
"I do. Claire, do you remember a few years ago when a young boy mistakenly blew the wall out of a nearby school building?"
"Yeah. They said lasers came out of his eyes. Dad and Alice said he was a freak and should be terminated."
Xavier frowned. This complicated matters. He knew he wasn't going to be able to leave this child in this home once she completely figured out what was wrong with her. Reaching out and taking her hand, he leaned forward. Claire leaned in as well; the older man looked like he needed to tell her a secret.
"Claire. The images you see in your head, that's not just your imagination. I believe you are in the process of developing powers of your own. From what I saw in your mind, and what happened today, I believe you have the power to alter the reality in the minds of others."
A loud gasp came from the hallway and Xavier felt Alice's presence.
"DAD! COME QUICK! THE BALD MAN SAID CLAIRE WAS ONE OF THOSE FREAKS!"
Trask came storming into the room, turning his icy glare on Xavier, he hissed, "Leave now, you abomination. Leave before I kill you with my bare hands."
"I'm not leaving this child with you. Let me take her to my school...." Xavier began to say.
"LEAVE!" Trask roared, charging at Xavier, but being blocked by the man who had helped him out of the limo.
"Wanna try that again? Bub?" a menacing man growled, large metal claws suddenly shooting out from the top of his hands.
"Get. OUT!" Trask roared again, not caring he could easily be made into shish-kabob by this new man.
"Let me take Claire."
"No. I'll deal with her." Trask settled his menacing glare on his frightened child, Alice in the hallway, her eyes glowing with satisfaction.
"You won't be able to weasel out of this one, baby sister."
Not wanting to leave a defenseless 10 year old with her outraged family, Logan pushed Xavier out of the house.
"Logan. We can't just leave her here."
"Charles, we have no choice. She'll come to us if she can."
Xavier sighed with dread as he heard the screams from inside. Bowing his head, he hoped Claire would make it through this and find him. Logan started the limo and slowly drove out of the driveway.
Once Xavier and Logan were gone, Trask advanced on a terrified Claire.
"FILTH! ABOMINATION! LEAVE THIS HOUSE!" he yelled as he repeatedly struck Claire's face and body. She yelped in pain and tried to cover her face. Not satisfied with hitting her with his hands, he threw the matching glass vase at Claire, it shattering against her bare legs, creating many small lacerations. Blood began to spill from her wounds and she felt her left eye beginning to blacken.
"DAD! PLEASE STOP!" she cried, tears streaming down her face. She tried to choke back sobs, her chest heaving as she tried to breathe.
Trask responded by grabbing by her hair and dragging her to the back door. Throwing her out into the night, he howled, "Leave and never come back! You are not my daughter!"
Claire continued to cry on the wet grass as Trask stalked away. Alice walked to the back door, a look of smug satisfaction on her face. Reaching to grasp the screen door, she said snidely, "Claire don't live here anymore." She then slammed the door shut and the sound of her laughter could be heard as she walked away.
Claire picked herself off the wet grass, her legs in pain and bleeding everywhere. Stumbling down the driveway, she made it to Evelyn's front door. She had just lifted her hand to knock when the door flew open.
"Claire! Child! What did he do to you?" Evelyn pulled the frightened child into the living room. She sat Claire down on a chair and patted her arm.
"Claire, honey, I'm going to go into the bathroom and get something to help the cuts on your legs."
Unable to speak through her tears, Claire just nodded and Evelyn walked away. She felt the rage building up inside her. The nerve of Trask treating Elizabetha's child like that! How Elizabetha would be spinning in her grave. She quickly made her way to the phone and hit memory 1.
"Alexei? It's Evelyn. It happened. He found out what she is."
After a slight pause, she said, "He hurt her pretty bad. I'm going to treat her wounds and I'll escort her down to you as soon as possible. He probably knows she's here. The sooner we leave the better."
She hung the phone up with a sigh and rubbed her temples. She knew this day would come, she had promised Elizabetha on her dying bed that she'd always keep an eye on Claire.
"Bolivar doesn't know she's not his. Keep an eye on her please. Bolivar can be so cruel sometimes."
"Of course I will. Now rest." Elizabetha had died ten minutes later, just after she named her newborn daughter Claire.
Now it was time to take Claire where she belonged.