My Immortal by Evanescence
Requel caught a sound but the children only heard the vehicles' engines after they heard Requel trample past the camp. They followed her to the road, figuring it had to be the others since it had been quiet for awhile.
Requel stopped at the road. It was the swarm of kids that made the truck stop after it past. The horn of the truck beeped.
Scott took a look in his rearview mirror of his car, seeing the truck stopped, before braking. Logan had often honked behind him, holding up his hands as if it was by accident. The kids had thought this was hilarious.
They backed up and let the kids out. They had been packed in the bed of the pickup while some got sears in the truck or Scott's car.
Logan shut the truck's door while the older kids were helping others off the truck's back. He headed toward Requel who had her arms crossed. She looked up at him as he came. She had a slight smile. "Couldn't forget your sweatshirt," he said, holding it up. Her smile grew as she leaped at him. He swung her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Logan noticed a knife tucked into the waist of her pants but he didn't want to mention it now. He had not realized how worried he had been; neither had Requel.
Night fell quickly. The rest of the tents were strung up though some still had to sleep in the open, or in one of the cars. The X-men didn't trust any of the kids with the jet.
The kids had gone to sleep or to talk in their circles. No one had noticed a small group get away from the rest with Jubilee crying within it. Around the fire, the X-men talked of plans and causes for the attack. The talk was mostly in whispers and leaned in away from Requel. She still wasn't thought of as part of the group; she was just one of the kids now.
She wasn't listening though. Her head lay on Logan's lap, the sweater now on. At first, he hadn't known what to do when she lay down. His hands were now idly playing with her hair, and she let him.
Logan wanted to get to the other side of the campfire to talk to Professor Xavier about Requel. He had heard what had happened from the kids as Requel tried to find something else to focus on. He knew she could take care of herself when she grabbed Syren or had a knife pointing at a guy; though that one surprised him more than showing him something. To Logan, Requel was the only real pure thing he had seen for awhile, without being soft or vulnerable. It showed him it was possible, to be 'good' but not walked on. But once blood was on her hands, that whole vision would be trash, like too many other philosophies.
Logan motioned to Kurt to see if Requel was asleep. "Her eyes are closed," Kurt said. He was also apart from the others, considered more of a refuge than anything else. None of these classifications were said, of course. They were more like the unspoken reality, as are most classifications that split people apart.
As Logan was going to get up, his fingers trailed across her ear. It seemed strangely small. He pulled back her hair carefully. Her ear seemed folded in on itself. "Vell, that explains a lot." Kurt looked up at Logan. "Vhen ve vere on ze jet, I had to repeat zomezing." Kurt shrugged his shoulder. "I've alvays seen zat she heard zings most ozers don't catch and vhen I zaw her ears, zat made zense. Now, I know how she could deal wit her own voice. She von't hear anything now."
"You've become real buddies, haven't ya?" Logan was only slightly ticked that she had never ticked him about any of it, her ear or her power. "What else did she tell you?"
Kurt shrugged again. "She talks to you more than she looks at me. Zat vas ze only time she looked at me without fear."
"She's not scared of you, she'd just cautious," Rogue said. How had she known that? Logan thought. "What did you two talk about after she saw the bus?" Rogue had come over because the others had wanted to wake up Requel for answers so Rogue figured she could get something from Kurt instead.
"She had zeen my rosemary beads," Kurt said, remembering how she tentatively traced her fingers on the beads. "I asked if she vanted a specific prayer, she wrote down 'forgiveness.'" Kurt looked down, again remembering how intently she listened, as if the words would actually heal her. "I don't zink I should be telling you zis."
"Forgiveness?" Logan spat but it was all making sense now. He shook Requel's shoulder. She woke up without a sound, sat up and after a second, brushed the hair back over her ear, into her face. "Come on. The Professor has something to tell you," Logan said as she followed him around the campfire. She had learned to follow him when he demanded it.
"You have to tell her the truth. She thinks she caused the crash," Logan told the X-men, Storm, Rogue, Iceman, Cyclops and the Professor.
"Why does she have a reason to think she caused it?" The Professor's question seemed honest enough but he was starting to become suspicious of the woman. Things seemed too setup.
"She screamed when she saw the car."
Now it made sense; a simple high-stress situation triggering her uncontrollable mutant abilities for the first time. "The car was controlled by Eric. He brought it in front of the bus. Logan had smelled his presence and I likewise knew he had been there through the images he had been letting me see. That is why we kept you in the school for so long, why we didn't shuttle you off to a hospital." The night flashed before her again but she couldn't pinpoint who was Eric. She figured it was another mutant. She was surrounded by them. "She does not know who he is," the Professor told the others. Cyclops' view of her changed at that statement. She was more an innocent bystander now.
The Professor beckoned Requel to come closer to him. She came but not without a quick look at the others. She kneeled beside the Professor's chair. "I'm going to read you mind, from the night of the crash." She looked away; it was the only memory she had left.
The Professor put his hand reassuringly on hers which was on the arm of his chair. He then used this bond to get to her memories. The Professor closed his eyes to concentrate, Requel closed her eyes to brace herself. This time the memory came strongly and clear, not in the pieces she had been getting before.
The windshield wipers kept a steady beat in the quiet bus. The Professor sat beside Requel but she was looking out the rain streaked window at her side. The Professor found Magneto hidden in an overcoat and hat. His arrogance, however, could not be hidden. Mystique was nowhere to be seen. Instead a man with pale green skin sat beside Magneto, as disguised as he could be. He was talking to Magneto.
"Well, when are we going to go? You have to give me a warning." The Professor noticed the wristwatch tighten around Toad's wrist. Eric was never a man of many words. The disdained whimper from Toad brought Requel's attention to them. Magneto smiled to her and she cautiously smiled back, looking through the Professor. She looked forward, clutching the bag in her lap, the same one she picked up and brought back to the camp. The Professor turned to see what she saw, headlights in the windshield. Even in a memory, her scream echoed in every cavity of his mind. He pushed forward through the memory; he didn't need to witness the crash. Seeing its remains were enough.
The Professor now stood on the hill above the bus that now laid on its side. He looked up and caught sight of Toad holding on the metal barrier the bus had crashed through. He also was holding on to Magneto who was already bending the metal to help him to the road.
"Now why couldn't you have done that off the bus?" Toad asked sarcastically. "I needed to make sure she was the one." Magneto brushed himself off. "And how do ya figure that?" "The way she looked to you when you whimpered-" "I didn't whimper-" "She looked as if she were going to do something if something was up." His voice turned disgusted. "Like some sort of noisy protector. He looked down at the wreckage. "The cops will be here soon, though still too late." He raised his voice so that the valley echoed. "We'll be in the city, Charles. If you want to follow." He walked off down the road as the two people within the car got out, looking guilty. For good measure, Magneto lifted their car over the cliff, dropping it somewhere at the top, leaving the two to walk. The Professor took a last look at the bus. Someone was crawling out of the bus. He looked up to Magneto and gave a thumb's up.
Requel inhaled painfully as the memory stopped. The Professor raised his head. "He's in the city."
Requel caught a sound but the children only heard the vehicles' engines after they heard Requel trample past the camp. They followed her to the road, figuring it had to be the others since it had been quiet for awhile.
Requel stopped at the road. It was the swarm of kids that made the truck stop after it past. The horn of the truck beeped.
Scott took a look in his rearview mirror of his car, seeing the truck stopped, before braking. Logan had often honked behind him, holding up his hands as if it was by accident. The kids had thought this was hilarious.
They backed up and let the kids out. They had been packed in the bed of the pickup while some got sears in the truck or Scott's car.
Logan shut the truck's door while the older kids were helping others off the truck's back. He headed toward Requel who had her arms crossed. She looked up at him as he came. She had a slight smile. "Couldn't forget your sweatshirt," he said, holding it up. Her smile grew as she leaped at him. He swung her around as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Logan noticed a knife tucked into the waist of her pants but he didn't want to mention it now. He had not realized how worried he had been; neither had Requel.
Night fell quickly. The rest of the tents were strung up though some still had to sleep in the open, or in one of the cars. The X-men didn't trust any of the kids with the jet.
The kids had gone to sleep or to talk in their circles. No one had noticed a small group get away from the rest with Jubilee crying within it. Around the fire, the X-men talked of plans and causes for the attack. The talk was mostly in whispers and leaned in away from Requel. She still wasn't thought of as part of the group; she was just one of the kids now.
She wasn't listening though. Her head lay on Logan's lap, the sweater now on. At first, he hadn't known what to do when she lay down. His hands were now idly playing with her hair, and she let him.
Logan wanted to get to the other side of the campfire to talk to Professor Xavier about Requel. He had heard what had happened from the kids as Requel tried to find something else to focus on. He knew she could take care of herself when she grabbed Syren or had a knife pointing at a guy; though that one surprised him more than showing him something. To Logan, Requel was the only real pure thing he had seen for awhile, without being soft or vulnerable. It showed him it was possible, to be 'good' but not walked on. But once blood was on her hands, that whole vision would be trash, like too many other philosophies.
Logan motioned to Kurt to see if Requel was asleep. "Her eyes are closed," Kurt said. He was also apart from the others, considered more of a refuge than anything else. None of these classifications were said, of course. They were more like the unspoken reality, as are most classifications that split people apart.
As Logan was going to get up, his fingers trailed across her ear. It seemed strangely small. He pulled back her hair carefully. Her ear seemed folded in on itself. "Vell, that explains a lot." Kurt looked up at Logan. "Vhen ve vere on ze jet, I had to repeat zomezing." Kurt shrugged his shoulder. "I've alvays seen zat she heard zings most ozers don't catch and vhen I zaw her ears, zat made zense. Now, I know how she could deal wit her own voice. She von't hear anything now."
"You've become real buddies, haven't ya?" Logan was only slightly ticked that she had never ticked him about any of it, her ear or her power. "What else did she tell you?"
Kurt shrugged again. "She talks to you more than she looks at me. Zat vas ze only time she looked at me without fear."
"She's not scared of you, she'd just cautious," Rogue said. How had she known that? Logan thought. "What did you two talk about after she saw the bus?" Rogue had come over because the others had wanted to wake up Requel for answers so Rogue figured she could get something from Kurt instead.
"She had zeen my rosemary beads," Kurt said, remembering how she tentatively traced her fingers on the beads. "I asked if she vanted a specific prayer, she wrote down 'forgiveness.'" Kurt looked down, again remembering how intently she listened, as if the words would actually heal her. "I don't zink I should be telling you zis."
"Forgiveness?" Logan spat but it was all making sense now. He shook Requel's shoulder. She woke up without a sound, sat up and after a second, brushed the hair back over her ear, into her face. "Come on. The Professor has something to tell you," Logan said as she followed him around the campfire. She had learned to follow him when he demanded it.
"You have to tell her the truth. She thinks she caused the crash," Logan told the X-men, Storm, Rogue, Iceman, Cyclops and the Professor.
"Why does she have a reason to think she caused it?" The Professor's question seemed honest enough but he was starting to become suspicious of the woman. Things seemed too setup.
"She screamed when she saw the car."
Now it made sense; a simple high-stress situation triggering her uncontrollable mutant abilities for the first time. "The car was controlled by Eric. He brought it in front of the bus. Logan had smelled his presence and I likewise knew he had been there through the images he had been letting me see. That is why we kept you in the school for so long, why we didn't shuttle you off to a hospital." The night flashed before her again but she couldn't pinpoint who was Eric. She figured it was another mutant. She was surrounded by them. "She does not know who he is," the Professor told the others. Cyclops' view of her changed at that statement. She was more an innocent bystander now.
The Professor beckoned Requel to come closer to him. She came but not without a quick look at the others. She kneeled beside the Professor's chair. "I'm going to read you mind, from the night of the crash." She looked away; it was the only memory she had left.
The Professor put his hand reassuringly on hers which was on the arm of his chair. He then used this bond to get to her memories. The Professor closed his eyes to concentrate, Requel closed her eyes to brace herself. This time the memory came strongly and clear, not in the pieces she had been getting before.
The windshield wipers kept a steady beat in the quiet bus. The Professor sat beside Requel but she was looking out the rain streaked window at her side. The Professor found Magneto hidden in an overcoat and hat. His arrogance, however, could not be hidden. Mystique was nowhere to be seen. Instead a man with pale green skin sat beside Magneto, as disguised as he could be. He was talking to Magneto.
"Well, when are we going to go? You have to give me a warning." The Professor noticed the wristwatch tighten around Toad's wrist. Eric was never a man of many words. The disdained whimper from Toad brought Requel's attention to them. Magneto smiled to her and she cautiously smiled back, looking through the Professor. She looked forward, clutching the bag in her lap, the same one she picked up and brought back to the camp. The Professor turned to see what she saw, headlights in the windshield. Even in a memory, her scream echoed in every cavity of his mind. He pushed forward through the memory; he didn't need to witness the crash. Seeing its remains were enough.
The Professor now stood on the hill above the bus that now laid on its side. He looked up and caught sight of Toad holding on the metal barrier the bus had crashed through. He also was holding on to Magneto who was already bending the metal to help him to the road.
"Now why couldn't you have done that off the bus?" Toad asked sarcastically. "I needed to make sure she was the one." Magneto brushed himself off. "And how do ya figure that?" "The way she looked to you when you whimpered-" "I didn't whimper-" "She looked as if she were going to do something if something was up." His voice turned disgusted. "Like some sort of noisy protector. He looked down at the wreckage. "The cops will be here soon, though still too late." He raised his voice so that the valley echoed. "We'll be in the city, Charles. If you want to follow." He walked off down the road as the two people within the car got out, looking guilty. For good measure, Magneto lifted their car over the cliff, dropping it somewhere at the top, leaving the two to walk. The Professor took a last look at the bus. Someone was crawling out of the bus. He looked up to Magneto and gave a thumb's up.
Requel inhaled painfully as the memory stopped. The Professor raised his head. "He's in the city."