Edge
Prologue: Old Files
[Disclaimer: MARVEL owns "X-Men: Evolution." AU after "eXtreme Measures." I own whatever I write/create. Don't steal and don't sue.]
"Journal entry 7
Well, it's been four days since I put out an ad to fill up the rest of the house. Believe it or not, three people decided to show up. After they showed up, it was all a matter of watching them for a while to see if they were mutants.
Don't forget, I'm not some kind of mutant hunter, though I could be. I'm a mutant. It's easier to let some people test-live in my house instead of blatantly putting out an ad for mutants.
The first—well, all of them are runaways. I don't condone it, but who am I to tell anyone what to do? In any case, the first is a sixteen-year-old boy named Kris. He's a bit…immature. The boy's hair is blond-white from bleach. Another one drawn into the fashion culture of today. His parents gave him a car before he ran away when his powers manifested. It's the flashiest thing I've seen in years.
Kris is flashy himself. He named himself Volt for his ability to control most aspects of electricity. Although he deserves a good smack in the head occasionally, I don't. He's assured me that I don't have to pay the electric bill anymore—he can steal it from something else.
The second is another young man only half a year older than Kris. His name is Pax. The boy is quiet, shy, and anything but assertive. If it were not for me and the last of my housemates, Kris would take advantage of Pax whenever possible. Pax has been given the nickname Stopwatch from Kris for his ability. For as long as Pax holds his breath, time will slow to a point where it nearly stops. Pax doesn't want to use his talent much. When he found his skill, people regarded him as terrifying. What could happen when time was slowed was frightening to people.
What can I say of my last housemate? Her name is Pandora, and she's seventeen. She's an illusionist. Disturbing, really. If you don't know how to get out, you could be trapped. Pandora's a bit of an introvert. Very quiet. Innocent as well. She's frightened a bit by me. However, I still like her a great deal. I'll win her over yet.
Ah, me. I've not written of myself. My name's Ian and I'm twenty. While I am a mutant, that isn't all that's interesting about me. When I was fifteen, I was diagnosed with split personalities. Of course, that's because of when my powers manifested. I was ten at the time, and my parents and I had just been out on an evening walk. From what I recall, my parents were really rather upper class. They were the kind that drew muggers.
That night, the muggers decided to kill my parents because they wouldn't give up their money. When they laughed and turned the gun on me, something in the back of my mind snapped. Energy shots fired from my fingers, striking them all in the head. The five men were dead when they hit the ground. It was at that time that the second part of me showed up.
It drove me to run away, to find a new place to live, to find a way to harness this talent. I ended up in Bayville, New York. An old woman took me in rather blindly, and gave me the deed to her house. That was five years ago. I had tutors when I was young, and they drove me enough to get past high school. Upper class parents. Wonderful for me. I was sixteen with a high school diploma. I had a job to pay the bills and food, but I wished I could have some company. I waited until I could place an ad. And that was four days ago.
Pandora was the only person that didn't want a nickname to go with their talent. My name? Well, my second part said I should call myself Gunner. I walk on the edge of everything—including the law."
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Ian sighed and leaned back in her chair. After a moment, she flicked open a lighter and coaxed it to flame. The black-haired woman smiled slightly as she lit the cigarette. She had heard that the Xavier Institute was a home for mutants. Well, if anything was going to happen with her new family, it would happen soon.
—to be continued—
