It was the next Monday when it happened. Gavin was walking down the hall
when he tripped. Of course, he wouldn't've tripped if the Football Captain
hadn't stuck his foot out. Gavin picked himself up, shrugged, and kept on
walking. The Captain looked at Gavin and smiled. He walked forwards,
catching up with Gavin quickly.
"Hey there. Calvin, right?"
"Gavin, sir" he said quietly, not even looking up at the Captain.
"Oh, that's right, Gavin. I hear you're pretty smart Gavin. Whadda you
say if you help me with my homework?"
"What classes you takin' sir?"
"Math, Business, some other stuff." The Captain looked over his
shoulder, one of his buddies moved into position. Gavin moved to un-
shoulder his back-pack, and the Captain's buddy snatched it from him. Gavin
turned and looked at him.
"Can I have that back please?" He said in that same soft tone. He
looked at the guy, he was about a foot taller than Gavin and had about
seventy-five pounds on him. The guy held the backpack for a moment, then
tossed it to the Captain.
"Oh, this is really mature`" Gavin said as he turned to get his
backpack. The Captain just grinned and tossed it to another of his buddies.
Gavin turned again to get the backpack, and again it was tossed. Gavin
looked at them, waiting for them to tire of this and either give his
backpack back, or to do something with it. The Captain tossed it again, and
then he smiled.
"Here! Toss it back!" He called as he moved into position. The Captain
took the backpack and began to open it. Gavin's lip curled ever so
slightly.
"Hey, you mind, that's MY bag" he said with a slightly louder voice.
The Captain grinned and two of his buddies came up behind Gavin and grabbed
him, locking their arms around his arms and holding him back. The Captain
rummaged around in Gavin's backpack, and pulled out a small leather bound
book. This was Gavin's prize possession. This book was his journal, and he
had bought it with his own money, something he scarcely had. Gavin looked
at the Captain.
"Do you MIND! That's MY stuff, give it BACK!" he said, looking at the
captain. He grinned and opened the book. He began to peruse the pages, a
grin on his face as he read. He snickered a little and looked at Gavin.
"We had heard you were poor, but this is just too much!" he said,
laughing. Everything Gavin was feeling was in that book and he was nearly
shaking with rage as the Captain heaped insult after insult upon Gavin's
writing. The Captain grinned at Gavin, and Gavin knew that something was
going to happen. He knew it was going to be bad too.
"Hey guys! Get a load of this!! Seems our young man Gavin 'ere has the
hot's for a certain Miss Jean Grey!" The whole bunch of them broke out into
laughter, and even a few of the students that had started to filter in
smirked. Gavin ground his teeth and tried to get out of the hold he was in,
but to no avail, the two linemen were stronger then him and had a grip like
iron.
"Give it BACK!" Gavin almost snarled it out. The Captain grinned at
him and leaned in.
"You like Muties, don't you, freak? I bet you wanna be one of them,
don't you, freak" Gavin was a young man that had a very long fuse, and the
Captain had just about burned it all away. The Captain grinned, almost
leering, and he looked at his buddies.
"I guess our little freak here might need a lesson. Maybe I should
give it to him" He grinned, cracking his knuckles and then he looked at
Gavin. He sneered at him, and tore the journal in half.
Gavin went numb.
Gavin had expected have the anger inside him explode out in one giant
rush, but it was as if everything inside him just stopped working. His
vision dimmed and he felt as if he was falling, falling.. falling down into
darkness.
He awoke looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. A singular fluorescent light blazed down at him. The bed he was in was soft, and it felt like fresh sheets were on it. There was only one problem, Gavin couldn't move. Try as he might, he couldn't budge. "Hello?" he called out, his voice quivering a little. He could hear movement from beside him, but couldn't even move his head to see anything. "Hello!" he called again, and he heard a door open and the whirring of a small motor. "Hello" said a man's voice. Gavin still struggled against his bonds. "I can't move" Gavin said, his voce edged with panic. "It's okay, calm down" the man said. "Where am I? How did I get here?" Gavin asked, still trying to move. "What's the last thing you remember Gavin? "What? How'd you know my name?" he asked, speaking quickly and getting even more panicky. "Mr. Strommier, please calm down, can you tell me the last thing you remember?" Gavin sat very still for a moment and thought. He remembered that idiot Mike tearing his journal in half, then that sensation of falling. He told the man. "That is good Mr. Strommier. Now, your in the hospital, you were brought here after a fight at school." "What? What'd they do to me?" he asked, not feeling any pain anywhere. Panic flashed through his mind again. He was paralysed, most likely from the neck down. He was going to be a lump of flesh for the rest of his life.
"It's okay Gavin, you're not paralysed," Said the man, his voice soft and soothing. "The police have asked that you stay in restraints until we ascertain you're okay" Gavin blanched at that. What had he done? "Oh god.what'd I do?" he asked in a low, almost inaudible tone. The man walked forward, and Gavin looked up into the blue-haired face of one Hank McCoy, a well-respected doctor, who also happened to be a mutant. "Mr. McCoy? Am I. in trouble?" Gavin asked his voice thin with fright.
"Well young lad, we don't know that yet, that's why I'm here. Now tell me, have you ever experienced anything like this before?" "Like what?" "Well, Black-outs, missing time, memory gaps, anything like that?" "No sir. never... at least.. I don't think so." "Think Gavin, is there any other missing time in your memories?" Gavin looked up at him, quite frightened and very worried. Gavin thought some more, trying to find anything else missing from his memory. "No sir. no missing time at all" he said, still frightened. Mr. McCoy walked away for a moment, and spoke with someone else. "I think he's the latent Jean found" "I thought as much. Please, try and get him relocated to our facility" said a voice that Gavin didn't know. "I'll try Professor" Mr. McCoy said. Gavin heard the motor whirr and slowly get softer. "Uh. Mr. McCoy, can you please tell me what's going on?" The doctor walked back over and looked at him. "Well my young lad, it seems that your latent powers activated for a moment, and you caused a great amount of damage to the school." "What are you talking about? I'm no Mutant. I'm just me" "It seems that you're wrong Mr. Strommier, our testing and the incident at the school seems to state otherwise." "What! What did I do! Please! Tell me!" Gavin was worried. Not for himself, but for his adoptive parents. He knew that he'd receive a thrashing that would put him back here, maybe for life, if his 'father', a strong supporter of the Anti-Mutant sentiment, ever caught wind that his son was a mutant. "Gavin.. Gavin calm down. I'll tell you, but please, try to keep calm" Gavin looked at him as the colour drained away from his face. He had heard that tone used once before, when he had been told that he was going to be put into the adoptive care of his Aunt and Uncle, the Doctor that told him used that same tone. "Oh god.. What happened" he said in a soft tone. Doctor McCoy looked at him and frowned a little. "Well. it seems that you were being tormented by a few of your schoolmates, and that you snapped, or as we've termed it, 'Exploded'. The next thing we knew there were a multitude of calls coming in that there was a mutant on the rampage at the school. It took nearly all of us to bring you under control, but not before you destroyed most of the school and killed about twenty or thirty people." Gavin looked at him. "You've got to be. but how. why? How could I. I would never. I just.." Gavin looked at the Doctor, blinked once, and just lay there, not moving, barely breathing, and his vision started to blur. He blinked once. "I could never do that sir. ask my parents." Doctor McCoy looked at young man quizzically. "What do you mean?" "It's been beaten out of me" Gavin said in a soft, hushed voice. Doctor McCoy looked at him, his jaw hanging lower then it usually did.
He awoke looking up at an unfamiliar ceiling. A singular fluorescent light blazed down at him. The bed he was in was soft, and it felt like fresh sheets were on it. There was only one problem, Gavin couldn't move. Try as he might, he couldn't budge. "Hello?" he called out, his voice quivering a little. He could hear movement from beside him, but couldn't even move his head to see anything. "Hello!" he called again, and he heard a door open and the whirring of a small motor. "Hello" said a man's voice. Gavin still struggled against his bonds. "I can't move" Gavin said, his voce edged with panic. "It's okay, calm down" the man said. "Where am I? How did I get here?" Gavin asked, still trying to move. "What's the last thing you remember Gavin? "What? How'd you know my name?" he asked, speaking quickly and getting even more panicky. "Mr. Strommier, please calm down, can you tell me the last thing you remember?" Gavin sat very still for a moment and thought. He remembered that idiot Mike tearing his journal in half, then that sensation of falling. He told the man. "That is good Mr. Strommier. Now, your in the hospital, you were brought here after a fight at school." "What? What'd they do to me?" he asked, not feeling any pain anywhere. Panic flashed through his mind again. He was paralysed, most likely from the neck down. He was going to be a lump of flesh for the rest of his life.
"It's okay Gavin, you're not paralysed," Said the man, his voice soft and soothing. "The police have asked that you stay in restraints until we ascertain you're okay" Gavin blanched at that. What had he done? "Oh god.what'd I do?" he asked in a low, almost inaudible tone. The man walked forward, and Gavin looked up into the blue-haired face of one Hank McCoy, a well-respected doctor, who also happened to be a mutant. "Mr. McCoy? Am I. in trouble?" Gavin asked his voice thin with fright.
"Well young lad, we don't know that yet, that's why I'm here. Now tell me, have you ever experienced anything like this before?" "Like what?" "Well, Black-outs, missing time, memory gaps, anything like that?" "No sir. never... at least.. I don't think so." "Think Gavin, is there any other missing time in your memories?" Gavin looked up at him, quite frightened and very worried. Gavin thought some more, trying to find anything else missing from his memory. "No sir. no missing time at all" he said, still frightened. Mr. McCoy walked away for a moment, and spoke with someone else. "I think he's the latent Jean found" "I thought as much. Please, try and get him relocated to our facility" said a voice that Gavin didn't know. "I'll try Professor" Mr. McCoy said. Gavin heard the motor whirr and slowly get softer. "Uh. Mr. McCoy, can you please tell me what's going on?" The doctor walked back over and looked at him. "Well my young lad, it seems that your latent powers activated for a moment, and you caused a great amount of damage to the school." "What are you talking about? I'm no Mutant. I'm just me" "It seems that you're wrong Mr. Strommier, our testing and the incident at the school seems to state otherwise." "What! What did I do! Please! Tell me!" Gavin was worried. Not for himself, but for his adoptive parents. He knew that he'd receive a thrashing that would put him back here, maybe for life, if his 'father', a strong supporter of the Anti-Mutant sentiment, ever caught wind that his son was a mutant. "Gavin.. Gavin calm down. I'll tell you, but please, try to keep calm" Gavin looked at him as the colour drained away from his face. He had heard that tone used once before, when he had been told that he was going to be put into the adoptive care of his Aunt and Uncle, the Doctor that told him used that same tone. "Oh god.. What happened" he said in a soft tone. Doctor McCoy looked at him and frowned a little. "Well. it seems that you were being tormented by a few of your schoolmates, and that you snapped, or as we've termed it, 'Exploded'. The next thing we knew there were a multitude of calls coming in that there was a mutant on the rampage at the school. It took nearly all of us to bring you under control, but not before you destroyed most of the school and killed about twenty or thirty people." Gavin looked at him. "You've got to be. but how. why? How could I. I would never. I just.." Gavin looked at the Doctor, blinked once, and just lay there, not moving, barely breathing, and his vision started to blur. He blinked once. "I could never do that sir. ask my parents." Doctor McCoy looked at young man quizzically. "What do you mean?" "It's been beaten out of me" Gavin said in a soft, hushed voice. Doctor McCoy looked at him, his jaw hanging lower then it usually did.