The Beginning – Part 4
"MEAN STREETS"
Stealth 1 (somewhere above Idaho)
"Kurt, Jubilee. I'm sorry about this but we're going to have to make a detour on our way to the mansion. The portable Cerebro built into the Stealth 1 console has detected powerful mutant activity in central Los Angeles. Whoever this mutant is, the energy signal indicates trouble. Hold on…."
And with that, Stealth 1 swooped low and performed a rapid turn.
"Aw nuts!" said Jubilee.
Jubilee switched on a TV console in front of her seat and plugged in her headphones. She flipped from one channel to the next, becoming increasingly frustrated.
"Professor, does this thing have MTV, or any entertainment channels?" she asked.
"I'm sorry Jubilation, this craft is only equipped with information of a serious nature. Bear in mind that it has not been designed for leisure travel. There are plenty of news channels though."
Jubilee frowned, and switched to the CRN network.
A newscaster appeared on screen.
"Police today at a shopping mall in Springfield, California said they were looking for the perpetrators of a suspected bombing attack on a tattoo parlour. The storeowner has asked to remain anonymous but has confirmed that a temporary employee and a teenage girl were in the upstairs room when the explosion occurred. Both the employee and the girl are reported missing since the explosion and police would like to speak to them."
Jubilee sat bolt upright
in her chair and watched intently. She'd alerted Kurt and the Professor as soon
as the news item began. They both watched on a monitor at the front of the
plane.
The newscaster went on;
"Eyewitness accounts of the explosion reported seeing a large, winged creature with green skin fighting with a purple-skinned man who seemed to be able to explode and then re-appear in different locations. Police are treating the incident as a suspected terrorist attack, possibly involving mutants. They are calling for more eyewitnesses to come forward. "
"Wow", said Jubilee. "That
sure beats an episode of Buffy!"
**************************************************
South Central LA
The alley was their home
ground, their territory. Nobody had a right to penetrate it. It was common
knowledge across the whole district that the alley was a no go area. They'd plastered
the site with spray can warnings and gang tags. Even to the untrained eye, it
was evident that this was not the kind of area you'd be safe walking through.
Here, the Crips ruled.
This piece of turf was theirs. With so little in life to aspire to, no
prospects, education or jobs, many youngsters turned to gang life. And with
that came the laws of the gang and the inner city. Drugs, weaponry and cars
were their currency. Life was expendable. In an age of empowerment, this was
the way of the underdog. This was how they gained control. Their taste of
power. But power corrupts.
The boy had pulled his
hooded Nike top over his head. It was a hot day. But his head was covered and
he wore sunglasses. Since his skin had started changing color, the boy had
rarely ventured outside. School was no longer an option. Dropping out at his
age was common, and the hue and cry of a youngster in a wealthy middle class
suburb dropping out did not occur here.
He'd taken a different
route than normal. His mother was seriously ill and he had to reach the
pharmacy and get back in time. Her angina had started again and she would need
the tablets urgently.
The alley was not the
route he'd normally take. He used it as a shortcut due to the seriousness of
his mother's condition.
His life had been
sheltered since his father had died in a car accident. His mother had raised
him until she fell ill. Since then, they'd struggled to get by. The boy had
done all the work around the house, and had grown up quickly.
Within seconds of running
down the alley, the first shot rang out. A gun was firing at him. He'd entered
the lion's den, and had kept on going. More bullets were fired, closer this
time. His heart was pounding and his pace quickened. He was putting his head
into the lion's mouth. Sweat poured from him and tears welled in his eyes.
Images rushed through his mind of his body, slumped in the alley, as his mother
worsened at home. His death would kill her.
The bullets came closer
still, slicing the ground in front, and to the side of him. He knew this was
Crips territory. Suddenly, the pain hit him. On his left side, a pain like a
thousand knives struck his arm. Adrenaline pulsed through him. Time slowed as
the seconds elongated. The bullet had struck and his mind spun. He hit the
floor and rolled into a ditch. Rats and detritus scattered.
There was not much time.
He rolled his sleeve up to inspect the damage. A large, gaping hole signified
the entry point of the bullet. But this was no ordinary wound, the skin had
buckled into the indentation but there was no blood. His arm was a medium grey
colour, and this was reflected in his face. He picked at the hole. His mind
focused, and a metal shape appeared. The bullet was there and had not broken
the skin. His arm twisted and stretched, the bullet dropped to the floor. The
boy was remoulding and shaping his arm. He pulled hard on his skin and was able
to stretch it in a number of different ways. It soon snapped back to its
original position.
The boy got up and
continued running. He pulled off his shirt and was topless. The firing began
again. Suddenly, the boy's flesh seemed to roll and buckle, a balloon of flesh
surrounded him as he ran. Each bullet that struck rolled off and he was soon
almost out of the alley.
A vehicle blocked his exit
and before him stood 6 gang members. They were distinguishable by their red
bandanas. Each one was threatening in appearance. Gold,
denim and weaponry stood
out.
Their leader spoke first,
" Where you goin' so fast
boy?"
"I'm sorry mister, I have
to get to the store real quick. You see, it's my Mom, she's sick."
"Is she? Well I guess
she'd have to be one sick woman to give birth to a freak like you. Why did your
skin end up that color?"
" I don't know. It just
changed."
"Well I've seen white
people, yellow people and black people, but I never saw a grey person.You must
be one of them muties everybody is talking about right? Let me tell you, we're
Crips and our color is red, and we got no time for grey, you understand?"
"I'm sorry. Look, I just
had to get to the store, I won't cause you any trouble I promise. Just let me
get by and I'll never cross your territory again. Please."
"No. You going nowhere
mutie boy! The only place you going is hell." The Crip leader turned to 2 of
his lackeys and said, "get hold of the freak and put him in the boot of the
auto."
The 2 men moved toward the
boy.
*****************************************************
INTERLUDE
London Docklands, England
The dock was crowded.
People bustled to and fro. Large container ships were berthed alongside cruise
liners and industrial yards. The ship had arrived from Africa and was
offloading its cargo. Crates and boxes of varying sizes were offloaded and
placed in the warehouse.
The limousine pulled up
and the driver stepped out. He opened the back door and a woman stepped out.
She wore a long black coat of fur, it's hood pulled up so her face was
partially covered. She walked over to the foreman and he pointed her in the
direction of the warehouse.
The woman entered the
building and approached the site manager. The woman walked up to the boxes and
identified the one she required. As the manager turned she quickly waved her
hand across the box and a strange glittering of light sparkled around it. The
woman turned and walked back with the manager. She signed for the box and then
returned to the limo. The box was loaded into a van that then followed the limo
away from the dock.
************************************************
LA
The car skidded and pulled
up alongside the storm channel. The Crips jumped out and their leader opened
the boot. Inside, the boy was bound and gagged, gasping for air. The Crips
leader grabbed hold of the boy. He was forced to the ground. At the bottom of
the storm channel, dry due to the hot weather, was a metal loop embedded in
concrete.
"You gonna pay the price
freak!"
The boy tried to shout but
could not say anything. His eyes bulged with terror.
"You should never have
crossed the alley boy".
He tied the boy to the
loop.
"Now look up at them
mountains, freak. The clouds are billowing up in the heat. There's
thunderstorms up there right now. In ten minutes, you gonna be drinking their
rain when it gets down here, understand?"
The boy fought back hot
tears in his eyes.
"I hope your death will be
a lesson to any other freaks who come playing in the Crips back yard!"
With that the Crips walked
up the bank toward their automobile. A loud crack signified the storm was
moving their way. They stayed to watch as the waters claimed their victim.
The boy was
hyperventilating. He steadied himself as he realised this was the end. There
was no way out of this. It would take a miracle. He was still in shock at the
strange abilities he'd displayed earlier.
The water was trickling
through now, gradual, but the pace quickened. The boys legs were now soaked and
he panicked.
He noticed his arms felt
hot and tingly. He couldn't understand why they felt as if they were sweating
profusely. He pulled a little, and once again, his skin stretched. He pulled
again, and his skin stretched further. Eventually, he freed himself from the
rope that was attached to the loop. He looked up the bank. The Crips were still
watching.
Suddenly, a whooshing
noise made him look skyward. Before his eyes, a large aircraft de-cloaked from
invisible air. A large bang heralded a smoke signal as the aircraft hovered. A
strange purple man was bounding down the slope toward him. The Crips started
their engine and drove off at speed. As they fled, they fired off several shots
at the boy.
The purple man introduced
himself.
"I'm Kurt. Please don't be
scared, myself and my friends are here to help. What's your name?"
"I'm Angelo" said the boy,
and then he collapsed.
Kurt scooped him up and
they teleported back onto Stealth 1.
The Crips drove at great
speed away from the scene. All were terrified at what they'd just witnessed.
As they looked through the
front windscreen, an upside down face peered at them from the top of the
windscreen. It was purple and grinned at them. The car swerved and seemed about
to crash. It suddenly popped out of existence and reappeared, moments later,
floating down the storm drain with the current of water.
Kurt laughed as he
teleported back to Stealth 1.
As the Professor flew
Stealth, Jubilee was busy tidying up Angelo.
"Hi. I'm Jubilee. That's
the Professor, he's a cool guy and he's here to help people like us."
"Please, you've got to get
me to my Mom. She's real sick."
The Professor read
Angelo's thoughts and located his home in the Barrio.
Angelo's mother was
treated by Xavier. He was able to provide her with the necessary medicine and
she rested.
Later, he explained about
his school and offered to take Angelo there to train him in the use of his
powers and to provide him with the education he so desperately needed. Xavier
would also provide Angelo's mother with a care nurse and a new home in a nice
suburb, away from the violent inner city. Angelo would be able to keep in touch
by cell phone and video conferencing. He would also be allowed to visit her
whenever he felt the need. Angelo's mother agreed and said a tearful farewell
to her son.
The cloaked Stealth 1
gained speed and headed back to the east coast.
Xavier's mission had truly
begun. As the plane switched to autopilot, he pondered the events of the
previous few days. Three young mutants were now his responsibility. He felt
increasingly aware of the burden this entailed and decided this would be the
beginning of an amazing future, for them, and for him. There would be many
challenges and pitfalls, but what he was doing was for the good of all mankind.
He sent a psi message to
Angelo.
"Angelo, this is the
Professor. Please do not be alarmed, I am speaking to you using my psi ability.
What happened to you today was an illustration of everything I am against.
There is a sickening cancer that grows amongst mankind. It is the disease of
bigotry, intolerance and hatred. Gangs lead to rivalry, and rivalry causes
tension, this leads to war. Those gang members did not see you as a person or
an individual, they made you an object of hate. They will hate you because of
your skin color, your background or ethnicity. If you had not had grey skin,
they would have singled you out for your Latin background. As my students, I want
you to stand up and be counted. To prove to the world there is a better way,
that we can make a difference. I trust you are ready for the great challenges
ahead Angelo?"
"Yes Professor. I will
give my all to our cause. You can count on me."
The Professor smiled.
"Thank you Angelo".
Angelo Espinosa peered out
of the jet at the ground, thousands of feet below. He'd never flown before, and
his heart filled with excitement and dread at the prospect of this new life.
END
COMING SOON: In Chapter 5,
there's trouble at Westchester County Hospital. Stay tuned as the Professor,
Kurt, Jubilee and Angelo investigate. And more on the mysterious woman in
London, England.