Disclaimer: Get real. If I owned the X-Men, I wouldn't be writing
here. I'd be selling books baby! But seriously folks, no I don't
own diddly, though I certainly wouldn't mind owning Wolverine! ;
) Also, I do own the characters Thorn and Arole, so ask
permission before you use them or I'll bite you're legs off!
This is my first fanfic, so be gentle! If you have any questions, put them in the review board and I'll make a special post to answer! Thanx! (PS-* * = italics)
Thorn
Scott Summers crept silently through the park, wondering how any field trip could go so wrong. He watched carefully for any signs of Arole, and then almost laughed at himself. *You can't watch for Arole,* He thought derisively *You'll never see him coming.*
Arole was a well-known henchman of Magneto. He had disrupted the fieldtrip of the Xavier's School for the Gifted earlier by 'dropping in'. His ability to make himself blend in with any background made him a dangerous foe and since Magneto's escape, any information they could gather would be helpful.
Scott, a. k. a. Cyclops, saw Jean Gray nearby and nodded to her. She nodded back. They were about to keep moving when they heard a scream.
"Rogue!" Jean whispered. They both dashed towards the scream.
"We found him!" A boy's voice rang out. Scott recognized it as a student's, Bobby, and ran faster. He arrived in the large clearing and relaxed. He had to smile at the scene that greeted him; Arole was glaring at him from inside a prison made of ice.
Scott clapped Bobby on the back "Good work!" He grinned. These students were taught well.
Bobby grinned back "Thanks sir," He said "But I couldn't have done it without the others. Rogue's the one who found him." He nodded in her direction and she blushed.
A woman professor named Storm surveyed Bobby's handiwork. It was a 4-sided room made of walls a foot thick. "I didn't know your power was this strong," She said to Bobby.
"It's not," He explained "I had a lot of help."
"I think the Professor will be very pleased when we get back," Jean smiled.
"You can't keep me here!" Arole's muffled voice interrupted them.
"On the contrary-" Scott started, but was interrupted by a loud cracking noise. Simultaneously, all heads looked up. The noise, accompanied by a rustling, came from a large branch that hung over Arole's cage. An evil smile came to Arole's face. His eyes met Scott's.
"NOOO!!!" Scott yelled, but it was too late to stop him. Arole leapt into the air, pushing off from the walls of Bobby's prison. He grabbed hold off the branch and yanked hard.
The branch broke with the crash of splintering wood. An avalanche of wood and leaves fell, followed closely by something else, rained down on them. The branch dropped onto the ice cage, crumbling 2 of the walls completely. Arole jumped to his feet and hauled something up from the branch. It was a woman, about 20, in worn and dirty clothes. *Homeless,* Scott decided quickly.
"Damn," She gasped. Scott assessed her from where he stood, rigid. She wasn't hurt, though she seemed to be in pain. Arole grabbed both her wrists in one hand and twisted her arms behind her back. He laid his free arm over her throat, just hard enough to be uncomfortable. She writhed and twisted, but he just tightened his grip.
"What about now Cyclops?" He leered.
"Leave her alone Arole!" Scott shouted, "What has she ever done to you?"
"Nothing," He considered "At least not yet. One day, she and the other non-mutants will lead a war on us, all of us. Whether we're 'good', or not. What will you do then?" His voice had risen so all the mutants could hear his speech. "And as for now, well, if you don't let me leave, she'll pay." His hand tightened and he wrenched her arm unpleasantly. The woman jerked her head against the pain.
Rogue carefully watched the woman's face, almost oblivious of what was happening around her. The captive's eyes burned, not in fear, but in anger. Hatred flushed her cheeks and her eyes slowly slid out of focus.
"Scott." Rogue whispered.
"Not now Rogue," He said, brushing her aside.
He, like Arole, didn't notice as the plants around the clearing began to act strangely. Tree leaves trembled, bushes shivered, and the grass shuddered in one collective wave.
"So Cyclops-" Arole began. He broke off, startled. He stared down at his legs, and tried to move them. He found he was stuck fast by the grass around his feet, which had grown, unnoticed up his legs, twining into thick green ropes. He snapped his head up and glared at the group in front of him. "Which one of you is doing this?" He demanded in alarm.
"None of us have that power Arole," Jean said calmly "I have no idea who is doing it."
"I know you are doing this!" He cried in panic. He was cut short by a noose made of vines that fell from a tree to snake around his neck. He let go of his hostage and grabbed the vine, vainly trying to loosen it. The women dived away from him, but instead of running, she straightened up triumphantly before him.
"Scott," Rogue said more urgently "*She's*the one doing this!"
Arole grappled with the vine weakly, gurgling. The woman stared defiantly at him. "How does it feel to be the captive?" She whispered " To be helpless? Let's see how many more innocent people you hurt after I'm though with you-"
"STOP!"
The mutant whirled to stare at a morbid Rogue. "You're killing him!" Rogue cried.
The woman's intense gaze swept Rogue's face. There was a moment of silence, interrupted only by Arole's gasps before she shifted her attention suddenly back to her prisoner. The class watched silently as the noose loosened and split to lock together his wrists and already bound feet. The adult mutants rushed forward to apprehend Arole, but the plant mutant stood motionless. Abruptly, she strode briskly away into the forest.
"Wait!" Storm called after her. Storm looked to Scott. He nodded and she took off.
"Jean," Scott said, "Can you take care of this?" She nodded and Scott followed Storm.
He and Storm were fast, but the woman was faster. She sprinted around trees and leaped over rocks and logs like a deer. Besides the fact that her followers weren't as used to the terrain as she was, they had to face obstacles, such as quickly growing thorn bushes and trees. Scott blasted them out of the way, but they still lost time. Finally, they came to the edge of the woods. The 2 mutants could see their quarry climbing the bank to decrepit old barn. She paused and flung her arm out as if throwing something. Then she disappeared into the barn. As Scott came closer, he could see an ever-rising wall of thorns that guarded the barn. He slowed down and stared. No way they were getting through that. He shook his head at Storm.
"Let's go home," He panted.
~ * * * ~
Several hours later, the three mutants stood in the office of Professor Charles Xavier. He listened calmly as they gave an account of what had happened that morning, leaving no details.
"So sir," Scott finished "I really think we should be thankful to the students today. They not only caught Arole, but worked together and stayed calm."
"Yes," The Professor said softly "And to this girl."
"Pardon me?" Ororo, or Storm, asked.
"We should be thankful to this girl, whoever she is," He explained, "For catching Arole." None of them replied. He looked up sharply "You said she was homeless?"
"Yes," Scott answered, "We believe she's living in an old barn."
"Very well," Xavier nodded "You shall go to the girl and offer her the chance to come here, to stay if she wishes."
"Sir," Scott asked hesitantly "Is that wise? I mean, she's over the age of the other students and seems fine on her own."
"In other situations, your assumption would be true,' the professor said gravely "But in these times." He shook his head sadly and turned his wheel chair to look out the window at the students below. "We must do everything we can to keep her from Magneto."
He said nothing else, and Jean didn't need to be psychic to tell he wished to be alone. She signaled to the others and they silently left the room. "Ah Eric," Charles murmured to himself "What have we come to?"
One week later, a week full of tracking and research, Scott, Ororo, and Jean climbed from a very ordinary looking car, squinting against the fierce glare of the sun.
"Oh my," Ororo said softly. From what they could see, they had arrived in a veritable Garden of Eden. A flourishing vegetable garden took up the whole area in front of the old and crumbling barn, and behind it was a large orchard. The lush grass was full of flowers, which seemed to be everywhere. As the team ascended the barn's bank, they could see a pond and a small shed off to one side. When they reached the barn door, Scott raised his arm to stop the others. A thick curtain of ivy covered the whole front of the building.
"Hello?" He called "Anyone home?" There was no answer, so the 3 pushed their way through the ivy into the barn. It was old and smelled musty, which was probably because of the piles of old straw on the one side of the barn. The other had a decaying cage made of fence and wire. From the rafters, bags of flour with huge rips that spilled out the white flour hung down and a ladder that led up to a loft. Scott climbed it carefully and beckoned to the others.
"Look at this!" He called. They followed and found themselves on a loft rid of straw, but full of plants. Ferns and climbing plants hung from the walls and grass and moss covered the wooden floor slats. One bed of moss was a foot thick and had a pillow resting on it.
"Looks comfy," Jean smiled.
Ororo climbed down while the others inspected the loft. She strode to the door and peered through the ivy. "Scott, Jean!" She said loudly "Come here!"
They descended the ladder and joined her. "I think I found our girl," She whispered, pointing to the garden. A tall, thin figure appeared from the shed and walked briskly towards the garden.
"Let's go," Scott said.
They exited the barn and slid down the rain-slicked bank. "Wait!" Scott called "Hold on! We want to talk to you!"
The mutant stopped and looked back at them. She groaned loudly "Not you people! Don't you ever give up?" She asked, before continuing on her way.
"We're notorious for our stubbornness," Jean informed her dryly.
The woman snorted derisively.
"We were sent by Professor Charles Xavier," Ororo informed her "We've come to thank you."
The woman stopped "You were sent by Professor Charles Xavier?" She repeated critically.
"Yes," Ororo said, "Do you know him?"
"Nope," She shrugged, kneeling next to a bed of squash and carefully beginning to prune away the dead vines "I've never heard of him," Scott shot the others an exasperated look. Jean couldn't help but smile; the woman reminded her of someone, but though she wasn't sure who.
"So what do you want to thank me for?" The gardener asked without looking up.
"For catching Arole," Logan told her "He is an associate of Magneto, an enemy of ours."
"Glad to help," She replied sardonically. She straightened up and walked to a pile of compost and tossing in the withered vines. Jean studied her as she would a patient. Today she wore a dirt-stained white tank top, which revealed a tattoo on her left arm, right below the shoulder. It was a dagger with what looked to be a thorn- studded vine wrapped around it. Her curly brown hair was pulled back to reveal she wore one earring, though it was hard to tell what it was: a snake maybe? She had an odd half-smile on her face, her lip curled slightly in the corner, her eyebrow raised faintly; a vaguely amused expression that made Jean feel like she was silently laughing at some inside joke. The girl was more that slender; she was almost bony. Jean could also detect a slight limp in her left leg.
Meanwhile, Ororo was trying a different tactic. "My name is Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. This is Scott Summers, otherwise known as Cyclopes, and Dr. Jean Grey," She gestured to each person as she introduced them. Then Ororo held out a hand for her to shake.
The girl straightened and ignored the hand "Thorn," She informed them shortly before returning to her work. They followed her as she walked towards the garden.
"Thorn?" Scott repeated, "What kind of name is that?"
Ororo glared at him "What Scott means is: what's your real name?"
Thorn stopped. She slowly turned to look at them and stared into Scott's visor. "I have no name," She informed them in a dangerously soft voice; she was one of the few people to stare Scott down.
Jean cleared her throat. Apparently they had touched a nerve. Scott stared after the woman with a look of surprise on his face. "We've also come to invite you to our school for the gifted."
"You mean for mutants," Came the muffled reply from inside a jungle beans and pumpkins.
"Yes," Jean admitted.
"I'll have to decline your offer." The woman said, exiting the greenery.
"Why?"
Thorn shrugged "I'm perfectly happy here-Why move?"
"You could just come for a visit." Ororo started.
"Sorry, but again.No."
"If your sure," Scott said, regaining his composure "But if you change your mind-" He handed her a card "Call us."
"Thanks," The woman said, watching them leave. She returned to her pruning and the X-men had almost reached their car when they heard her cry out.
"In the name of Kima!" She screamed. They rushed back to see her stumble out of the garden, horrified.
"What's a Kima?" Scott asked swiftly.
"In some cultures, Kima was the goddess of the earth and farmers' patron goddess," Storm explained.
They had reached the woman. Scott grabbed her and steadied her "What's wrong?" He cried, but she just pointed. He realized after a moment that one of the pumpkin leaves was moving. *No wait,* He thought, *there were thousands of bugs were crawling across the surface!* Unsure of her horror he carefully comforted her "They're just bugs" He said gently "I'll buy ya a can of Raid."
"No," She whispered "They're not; they wouldn't be able to get in. This isn't supposed to *happen*!" She cried, angry and horrified at the same time.
"Look," Scott assured her "They're normal, I'll show you." He raised a hand to his glasses and blasted one of the bugs.
Blue goo squirted everywhere. Jean jumped back and saw to her surprise that the back end of the bug was gone, but the front was still trying to walk. She leaned closer. "Wait," She said, "That's a microchip!" She looked back at the others. "These bugs aren't normal," She told them gravely, "These bugs are nanobites."
~ * * * ~
"These 'bugs' are very cleverly made nanobites," Jean explained "They are a mixture of machine and living organisms. While the procedure is not unheard of, it is rare."
"So these things were sent intentionally?" Thorn said from her chair. She was sitting in the professor's office, along with Ororo, Scott, Jean, and Professor Xavier. They were studying blow-ups of the samples Jean had collected and listening to her analysis.
"Yes." Jean said after a pause.
Scott cast a fleeting glance at Thorn. Her face had a look of suppressed anger; the same look she'd had the last few days since they'd convinced her to come with them to the school. Her uptight nervousness unsettled him; she always seemed so calm and cool otherwise. He looked at her hands; she was clutching the armrests tightly. Scott glanced back at the professor. He seemed a little concerned.
"Why?" Thorn said angrily "I didn't do anything to anybody!"
"Actually," Xavier said calmly, wheeling himself forward "You did."
"What?!"
"I'm sure you remember Arole," He said "He was an accomplice of Magneto's. We were able to catch him because of you. I'm sure Eric was seeing you as a problem and wanted revenge."
"Whose this Magneto-," Thorn started, but the professor cut her off before she could finish with an unsavory adjective.
"Magneto is an enemy of ours, a powerful mutant who believes that there will one day be a war between mutants and non-mutants. He has many accomplices and the power to control metal, " Xavier explained.
"So why hasn't anyone done anything about him?" Thorn demanded.
"We have," Scott said, "He escaped."
"Good job," She replied sarcastically.
Xavier ignored Scott's look and continued, "We understand you've been through a lot. But, if you'll consent, we'd like to begin transferring you're plants immediately."
"Why?"
"Judging from the data Dr. Gray has collected, it's next to impossible to stop them, so I thought maybe we could bring your plants here and construct a garden or a greenhouse for you, where you'd be safer."
Jean looked with concern at the Thorn, who was barely a woman, dealing with so much. What had happened to her? Why did she live alone? She was so angry and sad at the same time. Thorn took a deep breath and began talking in a trembling voice, but from anger or sadness, Jean couldn't tell.
"It took me 5 years to create a home for myself," She said quietly, more to herself than to them "It was my everything. He's gonna pay for this." She was gripping the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles were white and, suddenly, a potted fern on the window ledge burst. Shards of clay went spinning as the roots grew wildly, causing everyone to shield themselves with their arms, or in Jean's cause, Scott. Thorn stood up unflinching and faced Xavier calmly.
"OK, I'll stay."
~ * * * ~
So whadda ya think? Please reply! Next post soon!
~Ezra~
This is my first fanfic, so be gentle! If you have any questions, put them in the review board and I'll make a special post to answer! Thanx! (PS-* * = italics)
Thorn
Scott Summers crept silently through the park, wondering how any field trip could go so wrong. He watched carefully for any signs of Arole, and then almost laughed at himself. *You can't watch for Arole,* He thought derisively *You'll never see him coming.*
Arole was a well-known henchman of Magneto. He had disrupted the fieldtrip of the Xavier's School for the Gifted earlier by 'dropping in'. His ability to make himself blend in with any background made him a dangerous foe and since Magneto's escape, any information they could gather would be helpful.
Scott, a. k. a. Cyclops, saw Jean Gray nearby and nodded to her. She nodded back. They were about to keep moving when they heard a scream.
"Rogue!" Jean whispered. They both dashed towards the scream.
"We found him!" A boy's voice rang out. Scott recognized it as a student's, Bobby, and ran faster. He arrived in the large clearing and relaxed. He had to smile at the scene that greeted him; Arole was glaring at him from inside a prison made of ice.
Scott clapped Bobby on the back "Good work!" He grinned. These students were taught well.
Bobby grinned back "Thanks sir," He said "But I couldn't have done it without the others. Rogue's the one who found him." He nodded in her direction and she blushed.
A woman professor named Storm surveyed Bobby's handiwork. It was a 4-sided room made of walls a foot thick. "I didn't know your power was this strong," She said to Bobby.
"It's not," He explained "I had a lot of help."
"I think the Professor will be very pleased when we get back," Jean smiled.
"You can't keep me here!" Arole's muffled voice interrupted them.
"On the contrary-" Scott started, but was interrupted by a loud cracking noise. Simultaneously, all heads looked up. The noise, accompanied by a rustling, came from a large branch that hung over Arole's cage. An evil smile came to Arole's face. His eyes met Scott's.
"NOOO!!!" Scott yelled, but it was too late to stop him. Arole leapt into the air, pushing off from the walls of Bobby's prison. He grabbed hold off the branch and yanked hard.
The branch broke with the crash of splintering wood. An avalanche of wood and leaves fell, followed closely by something else, rained down on them. The branch dropped onto the ice cage, crumbling 2 of the walls completely. Arole jumped to his feet and hauled something up from the branch. It was a woman, about 20, in worn and dirty clothes. *Homeless,* Scott decided quickly.
"Damn," She gasped. Scott assessed her from where he stood, rigid. She wasn't hurt, though she seemed to be in pain. Arole grabbed both her wrists in one hand and twisted her arms behind her back. He laid his free arm over her throat, just hard enough to be uncomfortable. She writhed and twisted, but he just tightened his grip.
"What about now Cyclops?" He leered.
"Leave her alone Arole!" Scott shouted, "What has she ever done to you?"
"Nothing," He considered "At least not yet. One day, she and the other non-mutants will lead a war on us, all of us. Whether we're 'good', or not. What will you do then?" His voice had risen so all the mutants could hear his speech. "And as for now, well, if you don't let me leave, she'll pay." His hand tightened and he wrenched her arm unpleasantly. The woman jerked her head against the pain.
Rogue carefully watched the woman's face, almost oblivious of what was happening around her. The captive's eyes burned, not in fear, but in anger. Hatred flushed her cheeks and her eyes slowly slid out of focus.
"Scott." Rogue whispered.
"Not now Rogue," He said, brushing her aside.
He, like Arole, didn't notice as the plants around the clearing began to act strangely. Tree leaves trembled, bushes shivered, and the grass shuddered in one collective wave.
"So Cyclops-" Arole began. He broke off, startled. He stared down at his legs, and tried to move them. He found he was stuck fast by the grass around his feet, which had grown, unnoticed up his legs, twining into thick green ropes. He snapped his head up and glared at the group in front of him. "Which one of you is doing this?" He demanded in alarm.
"None of us have that power Arole," Jean said calmly "I have no idea who is doing it."
"I know you are doing this!" He cried in panic. He was cut short by a noose made of vines that fell from a tree to snake around his neck. He let go of his hostage and grabbed the vine, vainly trying to loosen it. The women dived away from him, but instead of running, she straightened up triumphantly before him.
"Scott," Rogue said more urgently "*She's*the one doing this!"
Arole grappled with the vine weakly, gurgling. The woman stared defiantly at him. "How does it feel to be the captive?" She whispered " To be helpless? Let's see how many more innocent people you hurt after I'm though with you-"
"STOP!"
The mutant whirled to stare at a morbid Rogue. "You're killing him!" Rogue cried.
The woman's intense gaze swept Rogue's face. There was a moment of silence, interrupted only by Arole's gasps before she shifted her attention suddenly back to her prisoner. The class watched silently as the noose loosened and split to lock together his wrists and already bound feet. The adult mutants rushed forward to apprehend Arole, but the plant mutant stood motionless. Abruptly, she strode briskly away into the forest.
"Wait!" Storm called after her. Storm looked to Scott. He nodded and she took off.
"Jean," Scott said, "Can you take care of this?" She nodded and Scott followed Storm.
He and Storm were fast, but the woman was faster. She sprinted around trees and leaped over rocks and logs like a deer. Besides the fact that her followers weren't as used to the terrain as she was, they had to face obstacles, such as quickly growing thorn bushes and trees. Scott blasted them out of the way, but they still lost time. Finally, they came to the edge of the woods. The 2 mutants could see their quarry climbing the bank to decrepit old barn. She paused and flung her arm out as if throwing something. Then she disappeared into the barn. As Scott came closer, he could see an ever-rising wall of thorns that guarded the barn. He slowed down and stared. No way they were getting through that. He shook his head at Storm.
"Let's go home," He panted.
~ * * * ~
Several hours later, the three mutants stood in the office of Professor Charles Xavier. He listened calmly as they gave an account of what had happened that morning, leaving no details.
"So sir," Scott finished "I really think we should be thankful to the students today. They not only caught Arole, but worked together and stayed calm."
"Yes," The Professor said softly "And to this girl."
"Pardon me?" Ororo, or Storm, asked.
"We should be thankful to this girl, whoever she is," He explained, "For catching Arole." None of them replied. He looked up sharply "You said she was homeless?"
"Yes," Scott answered, "We believe she's living in an old barn."
"Very well," Xavier nodded "You shall go to the girl and offer her the chance to come here, to stay if she wishes."
"Sir," Scott asked hesitantly "Is that wise? I mean, she's over the age of the other students and seems fine on her own."
"In other situations, your assumption would be true,' the professor said gravely "But in these times." He shook his head sadly and turned his wheel chair to look out the window at the students below. "We must do everything we can to keep her from Magneto."
He said nothing else, and Jean didn't need to be psychic to tell he wished to be alone. She signaled to the others and they silently left the room. "Ah Eric," Charles murmured to himself "What have we come to?"
One week later, a week full of tracking and research, Scott, Ororo, and Jean climbed from a very ordinary looking car, squinting against the fierce glare of the sun.
"Oh my," Ororo said softly. From what they could see, they had arrived in a veritable Garden of Eden. A flourishing vegetable garden took up the whole area in front of the old and crumbling barn, and behind it was a large orchard. The lush grass was full of flowers, which seemed to be everywhere. As the team ascended the barn's bank, they could see a pond and a small shed off to one side. When they reached the barn door, Scott raised his arm to stop the others. A thick curtain of ivy covered the whole front of the building.
"Hello?" He called "Anyone home?" There was no answer, so the 3 pushed their way through the ivy into the barn. It was old and smelled musty, which was probably because of the piles of old straw on the one side of the barn. The other had a decaying cage made of fence and wire. From the rafters, bags of flour with huge rips that spilled out the white flour hung down and a ladder that led up to a loft. Scott climbed it carefully and beckoned to the others.
"Look at this!" He called. They followed and found themselves on a loft rid of straw, but full of plants. Ferns and climbing plants hung from the walls and grass and moss covered the wooden floor slats. One bed of moss was a foot thick and had a pillow resting on it.
"Looks comfy," Jean smiled.
Ororo climbed down while the others inspected the loft. She strode to the door and peered through the ivy. "Scott, Jean!" She said loudly "Come here!"
They descended the ladder and joined her. "I think I found our girl," She whispered, pointing to the garden. A tall, thin figure appeared from the shed and walked briskly towards the garden.
"Let's go," Scott said.
They exited the barn and slid down the rain-slicked bank. "Wait!" Scott called "Hold on! We want to talk to you!"
The mutant stopped and looked back at them. She groaned loudly "Not you people! Don't you ever give up?" She asked, before continuing on her way.
"We're notorious for our stubbornness," Jean informed her dryly.
The woman snorted derisively.
"We were sent by Professor Charles Xavier," Ororo informed her "We've come to thank you."
The woman stopped "You were sent by Professor Charles Xavier?" She repeated critically.
"Yes," Ororo said, "Do you know him?"
"Nope," She shrugged, kneeling next to a bed of squash and carefully beginning to prune away the dead vines "I've never heard of him," Scott shot the others an exasperated look. Jean couldn't help but smile; the woman reminded her of someone, but though she wasn't sure who.
"So what do you want to thank me for?" The gardener asked without looking up.
"For catching Arole," Logan told her "He is an associate of Magneto, an enemy of ours."
"Glad to help," She replied sardonically. She straightened up and walked to a pile of compost and tossing in the withered vines. Jean studied her as she would a patient. Today she wore a dirt-stained white tank top, which revealed a tattoo on her left arm, right below the shoulder. It was a dagger with what looked to be a thorn- studded vine wrapped around it. Her curly brown hair was pulled back to reveal she wore one earring, though it was hard to tell what it was: a snake maybe? She had an odd half-smile on her face, her lip curled slightly in the corner, her eyebrow raised faintly; a vaguely amused expression that made Jean feel like she was silently laughing at some inside joke. The girl was more that slender; she was almost bony. Jean could also detect a slight limp in her left leg.
Meanwhile, Ororo was trying a different tactic. "My name is Ororo Munroe, also called Storm. This is Scott Summers, otherwise known as Cyclopes, and Dr. Jean Grey," She gestured to each person as she introduced them. Then Ororo held out a hand for her to shake.
The girl straightened and ignored the hand "Thorn," She informed them shortly before returning to her work. They followed her as she walked towards the garden.
"Thorn?" Scott repeated, "What kind of name is that?"
Ororo glared at him "What Scott means is: what's your real name?"
Thorn stopped. She slowly turned to look at them and stared into Scott's visor. "I have no name," She informed them in a dangerously soft voice; she was one of the few people to stare Scott down.
Jean cleared her throat. Apparently they had touched a nerve. Scott stared after the woman with a look of surprise on his face. "We've also come to invite you to our school for the gifted."
"You mean for mutants," Came the muffled reply from inside a jungle beans and pumpkins.
"Yes," Jean admitted.
"I'll have to decline your offer." The woman said, exiting the greenery.
"Why?"
Thorn shrugged "I'm perfectly happy here-Why move?"
"You could just come for a visit." Ororo started.
"Sorry, but again.No."
"If your sure," Scott said, regaining his composure "But if you change your mind-" He handed her a card "Call us."
"Thanks," The woman said, watching them leave. She returned to her pruning and the X-men had almost reached their car when they heard her cry out.
"In the name of Kima!" She screamed. They rushed back to see her stumble out of the garden, horrified.
"What's a Kima?" Scott asked swiftly.
"In some cultures, Kima was the goddess of the earth and farmers' patron goddess," Storm explained.
They had reached the woman. Scott grabbed her and steadied her "What's wrong?" He cried, but she just pointed. He realized after a moment that one of the pumpkin leaves was moving. *No wait,* He thought, *there were thousands of bugs were crawling across the surface!* Unsure of her horror he carefully comforted her "They're just bugs" He said gently "I'll buy ya a can of Raid."
"No," She whispered "They're not; they wouldn't be able to get in. This isn't supposed to *happen*!" She cried, angry and horrified at the same time.
"Look," Scott assured her "They're normal, I'll show you." He raised a hand to his glasses and blasted one of the bugs.
Blue goo squirted everywhere. Jean jumped back and saw to her surprise that the back end of the bug was gone, but the front was still trying to walk. She leaned closer. "Wait," She said, "That's a microchip!" She looked back at the others. "These bugs aren't normal," She told them gravely, "These bugs are nanobites."
~ * * * ~
"These 'bugs' are very cleverly made nanobites," Jean explained "They are a mixture of machine and living organisms. While the procedure is not unheard of, it is rare."
"So these things were sent intentionally?" Thorn said from her chair. She was sitting in the professor's office, along with Ororo, Scott, Jean, and Professor Xavier. They were studying blow-ups of the samples Jean had collected and listening to her analysis.
"Yes." Jean said after a pause.
Scott cast a fleeting glance at Thorn. Her face had a look of suppressed anger; the same look she'd had the last few days since they'd convinced her to come with them to the school. Her uptight nervousness unsettled him; she always seemed so calm and cool otherwise. He looked at her hands; she was clutching the armrests tightly. Scott glanced back at the professor. He seemed a little concerned.
"Why?" Thorn said angrily "I didn't do anything to anybody!"
"Actually," Xavier said calmly, wheeling himself forward "You did."
"What?!"
"I'm sure you remember Arole," He said "He was an accomplice of Magneto's. We were able to catch him because of you. I'm sure Eric was seeing you as a problem and wanted revenge."
"Whose this Magneto-," Thorn started, but the professor cut her off before she could finish with an unsavory adjective.
"Magneto is an enemy of ours, a powerful mutant who believes that there will one day be a war between mutants and non-mutants. He has many accomplices and the power to control metal, " Xavier explained.
"So why hasn't anyone done anything about him?" Thorn demanded.
"We have," Scott said, "He escaped."
"Good job," She replied sarcastically.
Xavier ignored Scott's look and continued, "We understand you've been through a lot. But, if you'll consent, we'd like to begin transferring you're plants immediately."
"Why?"
"Judging from the data Dr. Gray has collected, it's next to impossible to stop them, so I thought maybe we could bring your plants here and construct a garden or a greenhouse for you, where you'd be safer."
Jean looked with concern at the Thorn, who was barely a woman, dealing with so much. What had happened to her? Why did she live alone? She was so angry and sad at the same time. Thorn took a deep breath and began talking in a trembling voice, but from anger or sadness, Jean couldn't tell.
"It took me 5 years to create a home for myself," She said quietly, more to herself than to them "It was my everything. He's gonna pay for this." She was gripping the arms of her chair so hard her knuckles were white and, suddenly, a potted fern on the window ledge burst. Shards of clay went spinning as the roots grew wildly, causing everyone to shield themselves with their arms, or in Jean's cause, Scott. Thorn stood up unflinching and faced Xavier calmly.
"OK, I'll stay."
~ * * * ~
So whadda ya think? Please reply! Next post soon!
~Ezra~
