Chapter Two: Among my own Kind
As the jet dipped, descending out of the cloud-line, Annie and I got our first look at our new school. I wasn't sure exactly what I had been expecting it to look like. On one hand, all schools looked the same, but on the other hand, I was assuming that a unique school for mutants would be somewhat different from anything I'd previously seen. I certainly hadn't been expecting to see a huge mansion with extensive gardens, set in the middle of a beautiful forested estate. Craning my neck to peer out of the view-port, I watched as we flew lower, and I could see things in more detail. It was incredible.
"So this is a school exclusively for mutants?" Annie asked – the jet's engine made almost no noise, and I was amazed how clearly I could hear her speak over it.
"That's right," Mum said. "Your father and I – and Chris – first came here when I was fifteen years old. Things were a bit different back then, but in many ways I think they've stayed the same too."
"Of course, the school is only on the above-ground floors," said Dad. "We already told you that the underground levels house the X-Men headquarters, our last line of defence."
"It's amazing…" I breathed. "It's what I've always dreamed of, a mutant-only school. Why didn't you ever bring us here before?"
Dad sighed, then said, "Because we didn't want you to grow up without any contact with humans. We wanted you to learn to co-exist with humans, so that you would know their safety was worth fighting for."
I snorted. I hadn't learned anything of the kind. So far all I had learned about humans was that they hated mutants, and would always do so, no matter what good we might do for them.
"So why bring us here now?" I asked.
"Because I'm sworn to protect you and Annie, and I can't do that while I'm working on trying to cure this plague. This is the only place on Earth where I know you will be safe when I'm not around. There are eight X-Men, ten including your mother and myself. No force on Earth is going to get through that."
"Not even the Brotherhood?"
"No, not even them."
Dad sounded confident enough, but Annie was frowning slightly, and I guessed she had just been reading his mind. Was he not as certain as he pretended?
My parents' friend, the man named Chris, was piloting the jet, and he brought the aircraft down smoothly to perform a vertical landing on a pad beside the mansion. The woman, Felicity, hit a switch, and the rear section of the plane began to open, as a landing ramp lowered itself to the ground.
"After you," she said.
The noon sun beat down on us as we moved out of the plane. Annie and Dad both winced painfully as the light hit their ultra-sensitive mutated eyes. Both reached for their sunglasses, and slipped them on, their relief visible. I looked around, breathing in the fresh air from the trees surrounding the estate, enjoying the cool breeze that rippled through my hair.
A reception party of sorts was approaching from the front entrance of the mansion building. The first was a tall man wearing red-tinted shades, and behind him a younger man and woman were walking close together. Each of them appeared to breathe a sigh of relief as they saw my mother and father emerging from the shade underneath the jet.
"Oculus," the man with the red glasses said, as he greeted my father. "Welcome back. It's good to see you."
"You too, Cyclops."
Cyclops? That was the guy's name? And what had he called my father? Dad's name was Neil Rosiçky; I had never heard him called – whatever it was – before. Was it a nickname or something?
"I managed to get Neil to listen to reason," Chris was saying with a grin. "I didn't have to resort to begging, or threats, or bribery, or…"
Dad smiled, "Still got the wit, I see. I always wondered if that was an extra mutation of yours."
"No way; you could never be born with a sense of humour as good as mine."
"I don't know about good…it's certainly unique."
"Oh, stop it. You're making me blush," said Chris. "Anyway, enough repartee. I think we have some introductions to make."
Dad nodded, and stood behind Annie, putting his hands on her shoulders, "This is my daughter, Annie, and my son Gary. Kids, welcome to New York, and your new school. This is Cyclops – leader of the X-Men – and Rogue and Iceman, two of the others."
Annie smiled, and I simply nodded. I hated being the centre of attention, and was always nervous when presented to people. As we began to walk towards the mansion, I was relieved to find the conversation turn away from Annie and myself, as the adults got down to business, forgetting about us.
"So what's the situation?" asked Chris.
"Logan reported back a short while ago," said the man named Cyclops. "Seems the Brotherhood were in Brazil, but they left very recently – and in quite a hurry, it seems. There were eight or nine of them, according to locals. The only one whose description we recognise is Pyro. It seems he's their leader now."
"What about Magneto and Mystique?" asked my mother.
"We haven't seen or heard from either of them in the last few years. We can only assume Magneto is dead – there's no other reason for him to suddenly disappear. As for Mystique, we don't know. The two of them were very close – not in a romantic way, but Magneto meant a lot to her – without him, she may have lost her icon and inspiration. We ourselves very nearly lost our way when we lost the Professor, but we've pulled through. We had hoped that the Brotherhood might die along with Magneto, but it seems Pyro has taken command."
"Where are they now?" Felicity asked.
"We don't know. Rumours suggest they were heading to the US, but we've no idea whereabouts. It's a huge area to cover, but we have to find them. Neil, I was wondering if you would be willing to use Cerebro. I know it's dangerous for you…"
Dad hesitated, then said, "I'll do it. My telepathy isn't as powerful as Xavier's was – it never will be – but I think I'm strong enough that I won't be in any serious danger."
"OK," Cyclops replied. "Logan and the others are on their way back in the second jet. Until we know where the Brotherhood are, I don't want any of us to leave the mansion. We don't know what the Brotherhood plan to do next, but there is a distinct possibility that they will move against us. If there are nine of them now, it means they almost equal us in numbers, and we don't know what mutant powers they have. We have to stay here; we can't risk leaving the children undefended."
Dad frowned, then sighed, "I agree with that, but you brought me over here to help fight the Plague. I can't do that from here. I need to go and work with medical staff in an area that's affected."
"That leaves nine of us," said Felicity, not sounding pleased. "And you're the most powerful mutant in the world! They wouldn't dare attack if you stayed here!"
"Yes, and the millions of Plague victims would die if I stayed," my father countered. "I can't ignore that."
She conceded, "Of course, you're right. So that leaves nine of us."
"Eight," said Mum. "I'll be going with Neil. Whatever danger we face, we face it together."
Chris and Felicity both looked at her, and both were about to argue, when Cyclops raised his hands, "Wait, this isn't the time. I'm going to call a meeting downstairs once the others get back. We can discuss this fully at that time. For now, we'll show you to your rooms, and let Annie and Gary settle into their new home."
We were now nearing the front entrance of the building, passing on our left a group of kids tossing around a basketball. Cyclops called the oldest boy over, and said to him, "Dominic, this is Annie and Gary. They're new here, and they'll be sharing your room. I'd like you to take them to the room, help them get settled, then show them around the school."
"OK," the boy said. "This way."
Annie and I followed him while the adults went off another way. I watched them go for a moment, finding myself wishing I could go with them. I wanted to hear more about what was going on. I hadn't understood a lot of what they'd said, and I'd never heard of any of the people they were talking about, but that didn't put me off. It was intriguing…it made me feel – I couldn't think of the word – it was as if it was what I had wanted to do my entire life, without even knowing it. All my life I had used my powers to fight, but without anything to fight for other than pride. I had just had a glimpse into the life that my parents and their friends led – fighting for what they believed was right, making a difference to the world and to the lives of others – and I knew that was what I wanted to do too. I knew it was what I was going to do. I wasn't telepathic and I couldn't predict the future, but I knew, in some intangible, ethereal sense, that it was what I was destined to do.
I was distracted from my thoughts by the voice of the other boy, saying, "I'm Dominic. What were your names again?"
"Gary."
"Annie."
He extended his hand, and each of us shook it. It was then I noticed he was wearing gloves – strange. It was hot enough already – why was he wearing gloves?
"Glad to know you," he was saying. "You came over in the jet, yeah? With Shapeshifter and Shock? Where you guys from?"
"Edinburgh."
He raised his eyebrows, "Oh, cool. I'm from London myself. Good to have some more Britons on board. The room's this way. Do you need a hand with your luggage?"
He was addressing Annie. She shook her head, "I'm OK. Thanks."
"OK. Follow me."
Dominic led us inside the building – I was glad to get out of the oppressive heat and into the shade – and I decided to ask him about the gloves.
"Why are you wearing those?" I said, pointing to his hands. "If you don't mind my asking."
He looked down at his gloves, "What, these? Oh, it's 'cause of my mutation. I'll tell you later. Right now it's time for your guided tour. OK, our room is up on the second floor; I'll try to show you everything else on the way. Starting right here, first on our left is the gymnasium – that's where we have our unarmed combat classes, but you can go there in your own time as well – and on the right here is the indoor swimming pool. We don't tend to use that during the summer since there's one outside too. That door goes into the games room – we've got TV, computers, pool tables, and loads of other stuff that you'll see for yourself."
He added with a grin, "The adults don't usually venture in there, but you never know who you'll find sitting in there, half-comatose, watching TV at four in the morning."
I grinned back. I liked Dominic already. It looked as if this place was going to be all right after all. There certainly wasn't any shortage of things to do. Annie, as usual, had her mind on more practical matters.
"So where are our other classes held?" she asked. "When are we going to meet the teachers?"
"You've already met them," he replied. "Well, some of them. All of the adults here teach different classes. There's eight of them, so it's a lot of work. But they're cool, so it's never any bother. The class rooms and the teachers' offices are down that way. You can go down and have a look later if you want, but you'll be spending plenty of time there soon enough. All right – what's next? Oh yeah."
We turned the corner, found a staircase, and Dominic took us up to the first floor.
"All right, the dining room is through that door over there. We'll be heading there shortly, 'cause I'm starving. The laundry rooms are down that way. That corridor is where the adults' bedrooms are. Usually there's no need to go down there unless you're in trouble, or you're playing a prank. Not that I've ever been in either of those situations, of course."
"Yeah, I bet," I said.
He grinned, "All right, up to the second floor."
We took another staircase up. Annie was beginning to struggle with the heavy bags she was carrying, and I offered to help. She smiled but refused, and we followed Dominic as he led us along the corridor, stopping at a room on the right, pushing open the door.
"This is our room," he said, holding the door open for us to manoeuvre our luggage inside. "There are four of us now, but I don't know if our room-mate – oh, there she is. Hi, Marina."
On the bed nearest the wall sat a girl, her arms wrapped around her legs which were pulled tightly towards her. She looked over at us, flinching slightly, as if she was expecting one of us to attack her at any moment. I guessed she was about my age – Dominic was probably closer to Annie's – and she turned away quickly, burying her tear-streaked face in her arms, her body trembling.
"Are you all right?" Annie asked her, sounding concerned.
The girl didn't respond, hugging her legs even tighter, moving closer to the wall.
"Is she all right?" Annie said, this time addressing Dominic.
He shook his head, and whispered, "I don't really know. She's got…problems."
"Mental illness?"
"I don't know. She's only been here two weeks. She hardly ever talks. There's something eating at her…some kind of trauma. That's all I've been told. The adults have some idea of what's wrong with her, but they haven't told me what it is. They've got her sharing a room with me 'cause I tend to get on well with people, and she needs friends to help her sort herself out."
I didn't know what to make of that. Annie had put down her luggage, and was walking over towards the bed. The younger girl looked up apprehensively as my sister approached, and her body tensed, her eyes going wide with fear. She watched every moment Annie made with dread, as if she thought my sister were about to hit her. Annie knelt down beside the bed, and she slowly reached out to take the girl's hand. The girl jerked her hand away, now shaking in terror.
"Marina?" Annie said softly. "That's your name, isn't it?"
The girl hesitated, then nodded.
"I'm not going to hurt you," said Annie. "I'm going to be your friend, OK?"
Marina shook her head, her tears beginning to trickle out of her eyes again, as she curled herself into a foetal position and faced the wall.
"Like I said, she doesn't say much," Dominic whispered to me. "I wish I knew more about her. It's difficult to try and get to know her otherwise."
"She's a mutant?"
"Of course. Everybody here is."
I guessed that was probably the reason for her trauma. If she had had to experience the kind of anti-mutant hatred that I knew only too well, who knew what damage might have been done to her psyche? Annie had rejoined us by this point, and said in a low voice, "There's definitely something wrong with her. I'm trying to read her mind, but I can't piece any of it together. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that's been taken apart and put back together the wrong way."
Sobbing noises could be heard coming from the young girl, and I said, "So what do we do?"
Annie shrugged, and said, "Well, it probably doesn't help to hear us whispering about her behind her back, talking about how weird she is. I'll try to talk to her and see if I can help her piece herself back together."
"How do you know so much about this?" Dominic asked. "What are you, a psychologist?"
"No, a telepath. Same thing in many ways, only we don't get paid as much."
He grinned, "Fair enough. Well, I'm off to grab some food. Coming?"
"Sure," I said.
"Marina? You want to go and get something to eat?" Dominic asked.
The girl looked up, and shook her head hurriedly.
"You haven't eaten all day; do you want me to bring you something?"
Marina hesitated, looking at us uncertainly, then she nodded.
"OK," said Dominic. "We'll be back soon. Annie, you coming?"
"No…" said my sister. "I, uh, think I'll stay here and unpack some of my things. You two go ahead."
Clearly Annie wanted to stay and talk to Marina. I was surprised at how quickly my sister had set herself the task of helping this girl, but Annie was always willing to go out of her way for other people, to help them through bad times. Whatever was wrong with Marina, it was clear she was in distress, and Annie couldn't bear to stand by and watch people suffer. I watched as Annie put her bags down on the bed nearest to Marina's, then Dominic and I left the room to go and find some food.
A few minutes later, we were sitting in the dining room, where Dominic had grabbed a snack and a can of juice, and looked to have something on his mind. After a while he said uncertainly, "So you and Annie…are you just friends, or is there something more to it than that?"
"She's my sister."
He blinked, "Really? Wow, that's unusual. I've never heard of a brother and sister both being mutants. You're twins, then?"
"No, she's older than me. Our parents are mutants – that's why we are too."
"Oh, right. Who's your parents? Do I know them?"
"Neil and Chloe Rosiçky."
Dominic nearly choked, spraying juice over the table. He gasped, "Are you serious?"
"Uh, yeah. Why?"
"The Rosiçkys are legends, mate! They defeated the most powerful mutant in the world! Every kid here knows about Oculus and Gaia!"
"Who?"
He looked at me strangely, "That's their mutant names. Neil – your father, I mean – is called Oculus, and your mum's called Gaia."
I frowned. Then I remembered Cyclops calling Dad by an odd name just after we arrived. Yes, it had been Oculus. But what did that mean?
"But surely you must already know about that," Dominic was saying.
"No. I didn't know any of this. I didn't even know this place existed."
"Your parents never told you anything?"
"No…I guess not. I don't get it. What are these names all about?"
Dominic swallowed his mouthful, and said, "Everybody here has a mutant name. It's kind of a nickname. You choose your name based on the mutant powers you have. Um, I'm not explaining this very well, am I?"
"Well…"
"OK, listen. Your Mum's called Gaia because she can talk to animals, right? Your Dad's called Oculus because one of his mutations is his eyesight."
"Yeah, I get that part. But what's it all about? Why do you do it?"
He shrugged, "Everyone here does it. It's traditional. It's cool. Don't you think?"
"Yeah, I suppose. What's your 'mutant name', then?"
"Mine? It's Helios."
"Why?"
"I'll show you. Let's go outside."
Intrigued, I got up and followed him through the school building to the front entrance. It was the same door by which we had first entered the building, and I found myself once again admiring the attractive surroundings. Growing up in a city, I'd never been able to appreciate natural beauty like this. The smell of the fresh air from the trees was a heavenly sensation, and I breathed in deeply as we walked across the grass. Dominic stopped, and began pulling off one of his gloves, the one on his right hand.
"All right, watch this," he said, dropping it on the grass and flexing his hands.
The sun was still overhead, and I screwed up my eyes against it as I observed Dominic stretching his right arm up into the air. He spread his right hand, bathing it in the sunlight. I watched with widening eyes as the palm of his hand acted like a mirror, perfectly reflecting the sun, shining a beam of light off into the sky.
"Wow," I breathed.
"It gets better, watch this."
He curved his palm, clenching his hand inwards slightly, and the beam of light began to change, narrowing and intensifying until it was a needle-thin ray, like a laser. Dominic moved his wrist, and the beam of light reflecting from his hand began to angle towards the ground. There was a small rock by his feet, and he stepped back slightly, aiming the beam of light at the rock. I backed off a little as the laser of sun-light began to shine on to the rock, penetrating its surface, cutting through the stone like a knife through butter. Dominic moved his hand, and the laser shifted slightly, continuing to slice through the rock. He kept moving his hand until the stone had been cut in two, then closed his fist, and the light ray disappeared.
"Wow," I said. "So that's why you're called Helios."
"Yeah. My right hand can reflect sunlight; my left hand can absorb and store it."
"Amazing. When did you learn you could do it?"
"I think I was about eight. I'd been out in the sun all day, and I decided to sneak into my next door neighbour's garden to explore. They had a really big garden, and I was convinced there was a secret passage somewhere. Anyway, I remember climbing over the fence, and moving across the grass, when suddenly I heard a growl and this gigantic dog starting running towards me. It probably wasn't that big; I was probably just scared, but I started running to get back over the fence before it could get at me. I wasn't fast enough, and it caught up with me. I lost my balance and fell over, and I remember raising my hands in front of me to protect myself. The fear must have triggered my mutation, and the sunlight began reflecting off my right hand into the dog's eyes. It was blinded for a few moments, and I managed to get away."
"What happened? Did you tell your parents?"
"Yeah. I didn't really understand what had happened, and I was just scared and confused. I told them everything. They were my foster parents – my real mum and dad died when I was a baby – but they were wonderful people. They couldn't have any children of their own, and they were over the moon when they were finally able to adopt a child. When I told them what had happened with the dog, they must have known right away that I was a mutant. They didn't hate me for it; like I said, they were really wonderful people. They did their best to keep it a secret, so people wouldn't hate me at school."
"Yeah…I know what that's like."
He continued, "I soon learned I couldn't switch my gift on and off; it's continually active. So I have to wear gloves all the time to keep from blinding people. I guess that answers your earlier question."
"You can take them off at night or when it's dark, surely?"
Dominic shook his head, "That's when the power in my left hand becomes active. My left palm absorbs solar energy, and when it's dark, it will shine the light out of my hand like a torch."
"Cool."
"Yeah, sometimes. Sometimes it's a pain. The gloves block the sunlight from being absorbed. Even then, a little gets through, so I have to keep them on at night to obstruct the light from my hand."
"So how long have you been here?"
"Four years. I'll be sixteen next month."
"I'm fourteen."
"So what powers do you have?" he asked.
I told him. I added, "I inherited them all from my father."
"Yes, of course. So you're not really a mutant, then?"
"What do you mean?"
"If you inherit things from your parents, they're not mutations, are they? You're just your dad's son."
"Yeah…yeah, I suppose."
He was looking over my shoulder, "Hey, here come your mum and dad now."
I turned round to see my parents making their way across the garden towards us.
"Hey," I said.
"Hi, Gary. Where's Annie?" said Mum.
"She's up in our room. What's happening?"
"We've just come to say goodbye."
"Goodbye?"
She nodded, "Your father and I are going to do whatever we can to fight this Plague. We're heading for one of the areas where it is most widespread: Buenos Aires."
"Argentina?"
"Yes. Cyclops is taking us down in one of the jets."
"When are you coming back?"
"I don't know," my mother said. "As soon as we can, I promise. In the meantime, you and Annie will be safe here. I know this place is new to you, and a lot of it is very different, but try to treat it as a normal school."
"I'll miss you," I said unhappily.
"I know. But you'll be happy here. If you need help, or if you want to talk to an adult, try Felicity or Chris. They're the closest friends your father and I have; you can think of them as an aunt and uncle if you want."
Dad spoke up, "Gary, I wish I could tell you what's going to happen, but nobody can predict the future. The Brotherhood are our enemies, and we don't know where they are or what they'll try. I've tried to find out where they are – there's a device here in the school that amplifies my telepathy – but with no success; it's been several years since I last used the machine. What I'm trying to say is: don't do anything careless. The X-Men will protect you, but they can only do that if you stay here. I know you won't like being restricted, but it's vital you don't leave the estate. Will you promise me that?"
"Yeah…OK."
"All right. I wish I could say more, but we have to go now. Every minute is vital."
"Aren't you going to say goodbye to Annie?" I asked.
"I am."
Of course. Their telepathy. Dad laid a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it gently; Mum leaned close to kiss me on the cheek, and then the two of them were leaving, on their way to the pad where the jet was prepping for take-off. My feelings were uncertain as I watched them go. It was the first time in my life when I would be away from my parents for any length of time, and I didn't know what to make of it. A mother and father were the two pillars around which a child built their life, and just as I had arrived in this new and strange environment, my two pillars of familiarity were being taken away. It was going to take a bit of getting used too. At least I still had Annie.
"Wow…" Dominic was saying, as my parents moved towards the jet. "They're incredible."
No they weren't. They were just my mum and dad. There was nothing unusual or out of the ordinary about them. Or so I had thought. I was no different from any other child, who based their opinion of what was normal for a person, on the two people they knew best: their parents. I began to realise there was a lot about my mother and father that had been unknown to me. A lot of surprises. They weren't unpleasant surprises, but the fact that they were surprises was unpleasant. Why had this – all of this: the school; the X-Men; the Brotherhood; the mutant struggle and my parents' part in it – why had it all been hidden from me? Was there something my mum and dad didn't want me to know, or didn't want me to be exposed to?
They should have brought me to this school years ago. Even although I had never been before, it felt strangely like home. I belonged here. I didn't belong out there in a world where we mutants were hated for being what we were. Here, living with other mutants, people who would understand me and would not fear me, was where I belonged. Here I could be happy. This place was calm…peaceful…friendly…without hatred, animosity, jealousy, fear…most importantly without humans. If only the whole world could be like that.