Disclaimer: I don't own the X-men! How could I? They came out years before
I was born! ^_^ At least, I think it was years.*shrug* I do own Megan!
MINE! But you can borrow if ya want, just ask. ^_^
Megan walked with the rest of the crowd, listening to the grumbles and groans of her fellow Mason High students and the happy exclamations of the Bayville students. She tugged her hood down farther around her face, not wanting anyone to see her blue-tinted skin. Grateful that it was fall and she could wear a hood without looking weird, Megan trotted down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the crowd. Her mind was somewhere else entirely. There were other mutants near her, going to other schools, but still in her district. She began to wonder if there were mutants at her school. Most kids at Mason knew about her mutation and new kids were always told to stay away from her. It had been like that since the day she had found out about her powers.
--Flashback-
Fourteen-year-old Megan kicked the half-inflated soccer ball, sending it soaring into the air. It was gym class and they were outside so they could play soccer. It was about to start raining, but the ninth grade gym class was too caught up in their game to care. The soccer field was beginning to become slick with dew, causing the two teams to ruin their gym clothes. Megan's teammates cheered as her kick led the ball straight into the goal. She turned to grin at her best friend, Karin, who was standing right beside her. Karin was gaping at her, mouth wide open, eyes huge with fear. Megan cocked her head slightly, wondering what in the world her friend was so freaked out about. It began to rain, slow at first, but then harder. The cheering had stopped and everyone was staring at her. She began to feel really uncomfortable with all those eyes looking right at her. The teacher blew the whistle and the entire class ran into the gym in almost a panicked state. Megan felt suddenly reluctant to leave the rain, but followed the class inside. Her teacher stopped her at the door.
"Not you. You stay outside." She ordered, slamming the heavy metal door in Megan's face. Startled, Megan backed up; fear pounded in her heart. She stared at the door for a few minutes and then headed around to the front of the school where the doors were always unlocked. When she walked past classrooms, people would turn in their chairs and teachers would stop their lessons. Hearing a girl scream, Megan began to run. She stopped at the glass front doors and stared into her reflection. Her light brown hair was now a brilliant blue, the color most kids colored the ocean or a mountain lake. What frightened her even more was her light blue skin. It was much lighter than her hair, but still blue. Even weirder, she could feel the water around her. Every drop, every puddle, every trickle, she could feel it. She could feel the water in herself, more than the regular ninety percent. Megan screamed as loud as her voice would let her and then some, letting the water amplify the sound until the front doors shattered. All the raindrops around her came together to form a small vortex of water, a water spout. Uncontrolled, it picked up shards of glass from the door and headed towards the school. For a moment, Megan became the water spout, at least in her mind. She curved it away from the school and forced it to disperse. The girl fell to the ground, unconscious from the effort.
--End Flashback-
Megan shivered, remembering the raw power she had felt when controlling that first rain-made water spout. She didn't want to force it to her will, but she had to. There had been no other way. Control was simpler now after six months of practice, but her powers still had a will of their own. After that incident, Megan had transferred to another school, but they had also found out about her "gifts". So she had made the water fountain explode, who cares? Sighing, the girl kept walking, her eyes on the ground.
Two pairs of hands reached out of the shadows of a nook in the school and snatched her. "Pull her hands back." Someone growled in a low voice. Megan felt her hands being wrenched behind her back and tied together at the wrists. Screaming in anger, Megan closed her eyes and pulled the extra water within her to the forefront. It rippled through her hands and shot out through her palms. She felt it skyrocket from all those tiny pores in her hands and pummel the boys grasping her arms. They began yelling, calling their friends to help them. 'Can't even take on a single girl.' Megan thought to herself, annoyed beyond all reason. She knew their voices from school. They were on the football team, tall, strong and completely stupid. Not a good combination. Wondering how they had gotten out of the after game lecture, Megan fell to the ground and rolled away while freeing her hands from their constraints. More hands grabbed her, wrenching her up from the dirty ground and holding her against a concrete wall.
"Leave me alone!" she screeched, struggling against their strong grip. A boy stepped up close to her, towering over Megan's small height. He was a senior with dark brown hair and a low-pitched laugh that sounded more like a warthog's grunt. A sweat and mud mixture was dripping from his pimple- pocked face, which was set in a scowl. He glared down at the sophomore girl in front of him.
"You made us lose the game, you freak!" He spat, voice growing louder with each word. Megan tried to reclaim the use of her hands, but they were squashed against the wall. A smile scrawled across her face.
"I can't help it that you and your little crappy friends suck." she replied in a nonchalant tone. His fist shot out and slammed into her face. Megan stood there, trembling in unmanageable fury. She shook herself a little, regaining her composure.
"I meant the rain! We would have won without it!" He roared, his hot breath hitting her face. His friends nodded and grunted their agreements. Megan rolled her eyes, used to the misunderstanding.
"Your breath is killing me! Tic-tac, dude, tic-tac!" The football player growled and grabbed the neck of her coat. As he pulled up, his teammates let go of Megan's arms. Stupid mistake.
"You're on my last nerve, freak." Snapped the senior, the veins on his neck bulging out in annoyance. Megan grinned at the furious face.
"I didn't know you were so sensitive!" She exclaimed in a perky tone. At the same time her hands came up and shot jets of water at the two boys who had been holding her back. The leader dropped her instantly; she landed on her feet and quickly pointed both hands at him. As Megan unleashed everything she had left he was propelled backward out of the nook. The girl followed him, her normally calm navy eyes full of repressed anger. Water raced after her in its own terrifying wave as she pulled her arms behind her and quickly brought them forward. For a split second she twirled like a ballet dancer, causing the water to fly upward. The water whirled around Megan as it encased her in a new water spout. 'I'll show you. I'll show you what I've learned.' She thought to herself, taking a step toward the now terrified boy. Rivers of water ran to join the ever-growing hurricane. The some of the stragglers from the football game stopped to stare, their journey to the parking lot interrupted. A few screamed and took off the other way while others watched in horrified silence. A mutant? Here? Was it possible for them to be so blind against the obvious? They stood unmoving as the monstrosity moved closer to the innocent boy that was obviously its prey. 'Good, let them stare.' Thought Megan angrily. 'Let them know I'm here; I don't rightfully care anymore.' The football players had all scattered except their leader who was quivering at the sight of this young hydrokinetic girl. He raised his hands as if to ward her off.
"Stop! Please! I didn't mean it! I was just joking!" he was pleading, begging. Megan cast a wave of water at him with a flick of her hand. She then brought it back, making it whip past him again. The torrents that surrounded her body moved in a frenzy that made the girl within look almost invisible. The jock scooted in a humiliating fashion across the concrete as she walked towards him. The water slowed considerably as the girl bent down to make herself eye-level with the older boy. Her hand slowly pierced the water wall; she lifted his head so she could look into his eyes.
"Does it look like I am?" Megan asked in a calm voice. He shook his head while tears dribbled down his pale cheeks.
"N-n-no." he replied through his sobs. Water lapped at his face like a dog washing away his tears. In a split second the spout dropped, the water splashing up and drenching both of them.
"Good, because I wasn't." Megan announced as she stood up. She looked down at the senior who was staring at her with wide, amazed eyes. "You might wanna change your pants; it looks like you got a little wet." With that, she turned around and walked away, a smug smile on her face. People jumped back as she went past them, shielded their children's eyes from the blue- skinned monster; a group of them jogged over to the football player who was curled up in a fetal position on the asphalt. Even the few policemen that were around didn't make a move to stop her; it was like they were afraid to touch her.
Once she had left the school behind and was halfway home she began to cry. Was she a freak? Did she have any right to scare that boy like that? What was she, if not a monster? Certainly not a girl, she hadn't been that in months. A walking monstrosity then? A nightmare on legs? No, monsters didn't care about their victims. She did. Her blue eyes quivered in the street lights as she came to a conclusion. She was Megan. A girl, but not a girl, no, she was something much more. A mutant. A hydrokinetic one.
"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!" she screamed at herself. Megan fell to the ground and curled up beside a trashcan. She didn't want to move; maybe if she stayed here long enough she'd become part of the sidewalk. That's where she belonged.
^^^Meanwhile^^^
A sudden telepathic nudge in her head made Jean's head shoot up. She had been slowly nodding off the sleep; the drain of this week's school work had taken its toll on her. Jean shook her head and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. The nudge came again, more insistent this time. This time Jean accepted the nudge; it was from the Professor.
[[Yes?]] she asked, sounding rather lethargic. His telepathic voice surrounded her, making sure she was alert.
{{I've located a new mutant; it was just at your football game, I believe. It showed an enormous power burst and then left. It's stopped now, not to far from you.}} Jean tossed a look back at Kurt who raised his eyebrows. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he could tell from the look on Jean's face that she was talking to someone telepathically.
[[Kurt met a new mutant earlier tonight who controls water. Could that be her?]]
{{Most probably, but I can't be sure. Her mind has gone into a shielded state of thought; she has many questions. Tell Scott to turn the car around and head back to town.}}
[[Alright.]]
{{And Jean, be careful. She's very tense right now. I don't know what happened, but I can tell it wasn't pleasant.}}
[[I will.]] She smiled as she felt the Professor's presence retreat from the forefront of her mind and once again became a constant hum. Jean could feel questioning thoughts from both Scott and Kurt; Evan was listening to music so he hadn't heard a word.
"Scott, turn around." She said firmly. Scott only gave her a quizzical look before he turned the car around. Kurt was the one who jumped to question.
"So, vhere're ve going?"
"Back to Mason; the Professor thinks there's a mutant in trouble there so we're going to go check it out." Kurt's eyes widened.
"Anybody ve know?" Jean shook her head.
"No, it's a stranger. He said that it had put its mind into a sorta defense state." Kurt was about to say something, but she answered before he could voice it. "And I don't know who it is." Kurt just nodded and sat back. What could have happened in such a short period of time? It better not have been the Brotherhood. The hair on Kurt's neck bristled at the thought.
Megan walked with the rest of the crowd, listening to the grumbles and groans of her fellow Mason High students and the happy exclamations of the Bayville students. She tugged her hood down farther around her face, not wanting anyone to see her blue-tinted skin. Grateful that it was fall and she could wear a hood without looking weird, Megan trotted down the sidewalk, weaving in and out of the crowd. Her mind was somewhere else entirely. There were other mutants near her, going to other schools, but still in her district. She began to wonder if there were mutants at her school. Most kids at Mason knew about her mutation and new kids were always told to stay away from her. It had been like that since the day she had found out about her powers.
--Flashback-
Fourteen-year-old Megan kicked the half-inflated soccer ball, sending it soaring into the air. It was gym class and they were outside so they could play soccer. It was about to start raining, but the ninth grade gym class was too caught up in their game to care. The soccer field was beginning to become slick with dew, causing the two teams to ruin their gym clothes. Megan's teammates cheered as her kick led the ball straight into the goal. She turned to grin at her best friend, Karin, who was standing right beside her. Karin was gaping at her, mouth wide open, eyes huge with fear. Megan cocked her head slightly, wondering what in the world her friend was so freaked out about. It began to rain, slow at first, but then harder. The cheering had stopped and everyone was staring at her. She began to feel really uncomfortable with all those eyes looking right at her. The teacher blew the whistle and the entire class ran into the gym in almost a panicked state. Megan felt suddenly reluctant to leave the rain, but followed the class inside. Her teacher stopped her at the door.
"Not you. You stay outside." She ordered, slamming the heavy metal door in Megan's face. Startled, Megan backed up; fear pounded in her heart. She stared at the door for a few minutes and then headed around to the front of the school where the doors were always unlocked. When she walked past classrooms, people would turn in their chairs and teachers would stop their lessons. Hearing a girl scream, Megan began to run. She stopped at the glass front doors and stared into her reflection. Her light brown hair was now a brilliant blue, the color most kids colored the ocean or a mountain lake. What frightened her even more was her light blue skin. It was much lighter than her hair, but still blue. Even weirder, she could feel the water around her. Every drop, every puddle, every trickle, she could feel it. She could feel the water in herself, more than the regular ninety percent. Megan screamed as loud as her voice would let her and then some, letting the water amplify the sound until the front doors shattered. All the raindrops around her came together to form a small vortex of water, a water spout. Uncontrolled, it picked up shards of glass from the door and headed towards the school. For a moment, Megan became the water spout, at least in her mind. She curved it away from the school and forced it to disperse. The girl fell to the ground, unconscious from the effort.
--End Flashback-
Megan shivered, remembering the raw power she had felt when controlling that first rain-made water spout. She didn't want to force it to her will, but she had to. There had been no other way. Control was simpler now after six months of practice, but her powers still had a will of their own. After that incident, Megan had transferred to another school, but they had also found out about her "gifts". So she had made the water fountain explode, who cares? Sighing, the girl kept walking, her eyes on the ground.
Two pairs of hands reached out of the shadows of a nook in the school and snatched her. "Pull her hands back." Someone growled in a low voice. Megan felt her hands being wrenched behind her back and tied together at the wrists. Screaming in anger, Megan closed her eyes and pulled the extra water within her to the forefront. It rippled through her hands and shot out through her palms. She felt it skyrocket from all those tiny pores in her hands and pummel the boys grasping her arms. They began yelling, calling their friends to help them. 'Can't even take on a single girl.' Megan thought to herself, annoyed beyond all reason. She knew their voices from school. They were on the football team, tall, strong and completely stupid. Not a good combination. Wondering how they had gotten out of the after game lecture, Megan fell to the ground and rolled away while freeing her hands from their constraints. More hands grabbed her, wrenching her up from the dirty ground and holding her against a concrete wall.
"Leave me alone!" she screeched, struggling against their strong grip. A boy stepped up close to her, towering over Megan's small height. He was a senior with dark brown hair and a low-pitched laugh that sounded more like a warthog's grunt. A sweat and mud mixture was dripping from his pimple- pocked face, which was set in a scowl. He glared down at the sophomore girl in front of him.
"You made us lose the game, you freak!" He spat, voice growing louder with each word. Megan tried to reclaim the use of her hands, but they were squashed against the wall. A smile scrawled across her face.
"I can't help it that you and your little crappy friends suck." she replied in a nonchalant tone. His fist shot out and slammed into her face. Megan stood there, trembling in unmanageable fury. She shook herself a little, regaining her composure.
"I meant the rain! We would have won without it!" He roared, his hot breath hitting her face. His friends nodded and grunted their agreements. Megan rolled her eyes, used to the misunderstanding.
"Your breath is killing me! Tic-tac, dude, tic-tac!" The football player growled and grabbed the neck of her coat. As he pulled up, his teammates let go of Megan's arms. Stupid mistake.
"You're on my last nerve, freak." Snapped the senior, the veins on his neck bulging out in annoyance. Megan grinned at the furious face.
"I didn't know you were so sensitive!" She exclaimed in a perky tone. At the same time her hands came up and shot jets of water at the two boys who had been holding her back. The leader dropped her instantly; she landed on her feet and quickly pointed both hands at him. As Megan unleashed everything she had left he was propelled backward out of the nook. The girl followed him, her normally calm navy eyes full of repressed anger. Water raced after her in its own terrifying wave as she pulled her arms behind her and quickly brought them forward. For a split second she twirled like a ballet dancer, causing the water to fly upward. The water whirled around Megan as it encased her in a new water spout. 'I'll show you. I'll show you what I've learned.' She thought to herself, taking a step toward the now terrified boy. Rivers of water ran to join the ever-growing hurricane. The some of the stragglers from the football game stopped to stare, their journey to the parking lot interrupted. A few screamed and took off the other way while others watched in horrified silence. A mutant? Here? Was it possible for them to be so blind against the obvious? They stood unmoving as the monstrosity moved closer to the innocent boy that was obviously its prey. 'Good, let them stare.' Thought Megan angrily. 'Let them know I'm here; I don't rightfully care anymore.' The football players had all scattered except their leader who was quivering at the sight of this young hydrokinetic girl. He raised his hands as if to ward her off.
"Stop! Please! I didn't mean it! I was just joking!" he was pleading, begging. Megan cast a wave of water at him with a flick of her hand. She then brought it back, making it whip past him again. The torrents that surrounded her body moved in a frenzy that made the girl within look almost invisible. The jock scooted in a humiliating fashion across the concrete as she walked towards him. The water slowed considerably as the girl bent down to make herself eye-level with the older boy. Her hand slowly pierced the water wall; she lifted his head so she could look into his eyes.
"Does it look like I am?" Megan asked in a calm voice. He shook his head while tears dribbled down his pale cheeks.
"N-n-no." he replied through his sobs. Water lapped at his face like a dog washing away his tears. In a split second the spout dropped, the water splashing up and drenching both of them.
"Good, because I wasn't." Megan announced as she stood up. She looked down at the senior who was staring at her with wide, amazed eyes. "You might wanna change your pants; it looks like you got a little wet." With that, she turned around and walked away, a smug smile on her face. People jumped back as she went past them, shielded their children's eyes from the blue- skinned monster; a group of them jogged over to the football player who was curled up in a fetal position on the asphalt. Even the few policemen that were around didn't make a move to stop her; it was like they were afraid to touch her.
Once she had left the school behind and was halfway home she began to cry. Was she a freak? Did she have any right to scare that boy like that? What was she, if not a monster? Certainly not a girl, she hadn't been that in months. A walking monstrosity then? A nightmare on legs? No, monsters didn't care about their victims. She did. Her blue eyes quivered in the street lights as she came to a conclusion. She was Megan. A girl, but not a girl, no, she was something much more. A mutant. A hydrokinetic one.
"And just what is THAT supposed to mean?!" she screamed at herself. Megan fell to the ground and curled up beside a trashcan. She didn't want to move; maybe if she stayed here long enough she'd become part of the sidewalk. That's where she belonged.
^^^Meanwhile^^^
A sudden telepathic nudge in her head made Jean's head shoot up. She had been slowly nodding off the sleep; the drain of this week's school work had taken its toll on her. Jean shook her head and closed her eyes to go back to sleep. The nudge came again, more insistent this time. This time Jean accepted the nudge; it was from the Professor.
[[Yes?]] she asked, sounding rather lethargic. His telepathic voice surrounded her, making sure she was alert.
{{I've located a new mutant; it was just at your football game, I believe. It showed an enormous power burst and then left. It's stopped now, not to far from you.}} Jean tossed a look back at Kurt who raised his eyebrows. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he could tell from the look on Jean's face that she was talking to someone telepathically.
[[Kurt met a new mutant earlier tonight who controls water. Could that be her?]]
{{Most probably, but I can't be sure. Her mind has gone into a shielded state of thought; she has many questions. Tell Scott to turn the car around and head back to town.}}
[[Alright.]]
{{And Jean, be careful. She's very tense right now. I don't know what happened, but I can tell it wasn't pleasant.}}
[[I will.]] She smiled as she felt the Professor's presence retreat from the forefront of her mind and once again became a constant hum. Jean could feel questioning thoughts from both Scott and Kurt; Evan was listening to music so he hadn't heard a word.
"Scott, turn around." She said firmly. Scott only gave her a quizzical look before he turned the car around. Kurt was the one who jumped to question.
"So, vhere're ve going?"
"Back to Mason; the Professor thinks there's a mutant in trouble there so we're going to go check it out." Kurt's eyes widened.
"Anybody ve know?" Jean shook her head.
"No, it's a stranger. He said that it had put its mind into a sorta defense state." Kurt was about to say something, but she answered before he could voice it. "And I don't know who it is." Kurt just nodded and sat back. What could have happened in such a short period of time? It better not have been the Brotherhood. The hair on Kurt's neck bristled at the thought.