Sorry for the delay! My muse was thinking Pirates of the Carribean...
They'll meet the X-men soon, but I can't give anything else away. If not the next chapter, then the chapter after that. I might get long winded, or worse, romantic. If people protest, I'll try my best not to, but if you want it, tell me. I like to see what people are thinking about my characters.
Additional disclaimer: I do not own Snickers or Reese's Fast Breaks. They belong to... candy companies. I just happen to eat them at midnight while trying to get my homework done.
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The sun woke Theo: it was shining brightly with the same twinkling arrogance a digital clock's numbers had when you stared at them at six o'clock in the morning. He hadn't realized that the opening of his tunnel faced east, and so the sun woke him as it made it's leisurely way across the sky. He groaned and crawled out of the tunnel, blinking in the daylight his eyes weren't adapted for, then reached back into the tunnel to get his backpack.
He picked his way carefully down to the small pond in the center of the quarry, and, pulling off his shirt, scrubbed his torso vigorously, as much to wake himself up as to get himself clean. Wrinkling his nose at the state of his old shirt- he really should've taken it off before he dug- he reached into his backpack for another one. A couple of candy bars fell out onto the dirt, and he almost had the shirt over his head before he realized.
One of the candy bars was a Reese's Fast Break, and he hadn't bought any of those. All runaways on the move bought candy bars in bulk: packed with calories and sugar, they were a quick energy fix, besides being easy to transport. Theo always bought Snickers because they felt a bit more substantial to him that other brands, and peanuts were one of his favorite foods. Digging through the rest of his stock, he realized that someone had taken a Snickers and replaced it with a Fast Break between the time he'd gone to sleep and the time he'd gotten up. Which meant most likely they'd seen him use his powers to dig the tunnel. Cursing the mutation that made him squint in sunlight, he looked hurriedly around.
It was only because his back was to the light that he noticed the ratty shoe hanging just below the leaves of a tree. Abandoning the clean shirt, he crept his way as quietly as he could towards the tree. Closer, he could see that the foot was connected to a blue-jeaned leg, which was connected to a girl slumbering on a branch wiith her back against the trunk. He took another step forward and a stick snapped under his foot.
Instantly the girl snapped to life, moving from the branch in what he thought was a fall until she landed catlike on a rock nearby. Green eyes blazed with a predatorial anger as she tensed, ready to strike. Theo got ready to dig into the ground at his feet as they stared, each waiting for the other to make a move.
Then something flickered behind her intense eyes, and she eased back onto her haunches, though the set of her biceps told him she was still tensed to move quickly. "Who are you?" she asked, voice low and husky, like a growl.
"I know you from somewhere," he said, ignoring the question.
"I asked you a question," she snapped, level eyebrows snapping together, and abruptly he realized who she was.
"You're Catherine Davis. The one the FBI is looking for." She was as pretty as her picture, though the black and white drawing hadn't prepared him for the unreal green of her eyes.
"Yes," she hissed. "Now tell me who you are before I use my terrifying mutant powers on you." Though the threat was real enough, backed by her tightly clenched jaw, there was a hint of mockery in it.
"I'm Theo. Lately of Philly. You don't scare me."
"You sure?" she asked, flashing white teeth as her eyes glittered dangerously. Her menacing growl turned into a chuckle when he flinched visibly. "Call me Cat." She lept from the rock to offer him a hand, which he took. She made no comment on his mutation, nor did her handshake lack strength because of it, and he sighed inwardly in relief. So many people changed their minds about befriending him once they saw his hands.
She was shorter than he would have guessed, the top of her head barely level with his nose, and she had the same scrawny frame he knew he had, the sort of underfed look runaways perpetually have, despite occasional trips to soup kitchens. Her clothes were just as worn as his, maybe more. Up close, she seemed to be little more than your common homeless kid.
She dropped his hand and brushed past him towards the pond. "You stole one of my Snickers," he accused.
She plopped down on the ground and pulled one shoe off. "Traded," she corrected. "Traded one of your Snickers."
"I don't like Fast Breaks."
She wrestled the other shoe off- the laces were so tangled and dirt encrusted there was no way they were coming untied- and stuck her feet in the shallow water's edge. "Too bad," she drawled. "I like Snickers."
"Why are you here?"
"Probably the same reason you're here," she said, glancing pointedly at his hands. "Just trying to get away. It was working until you came."
"I won't report you."
"I know." She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. "Want one?"
"I don't smoke."
She shrugged in the middle of lighting her cigarette. "Your loss. You said you're from Philly?"
"New Jersey, actually. Town near Trenton. You?"
"Alabama," she said, exaggerating her drawl so that he couldn't miss the southern twang. "Been in New York a while, before I came here."
"How'd you get here?"
"Ran, mostly."
"You ran all the way from New York? I hitch-hiked."
She shrugged. "S'not that far. I'm fast."
"I guess so. How long have you been here?"
"What's with the third-degree?" she snapped, but she was grinning. "About a day. I was-" Abrubtly she broke off and snapped to attention. "Shit," she swore, grabbing her shoes.
"What?"
"Coming at us from all directions. Have to be Feds." She glanced at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Run, or dig, or whatever! They'll arrest you, too." She scampered into the trees.
He snapped out of his frozen stance and grabbed his backpack and shirt, plunging into the ground like a diver into a pool of water.
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I'm trying to illustrate that Cat and Theo's mutation's may not nessicarily (I have so much trouble with that word!) be blessings, so tell me how I'm doing.
And while Cat is attractive, she is also multi-faceted and interesting, with a very not-Mary-Sueish personality. Would a Mary-Sue smoke, I ask you? Smoking is something I abhore, so the answer to that rhetorical question is no.
Review.
They'll meet the X-men soon, but I can't give anything else away. If not the next chapter, then the chapter after that. I might get long winded, or worse, romantic. If people protest, I'll try my best not to, but if you want it, tell me. I like to see what people are thinking about my characters.
Additional disclaimer: I do not own Snickers or Reese's Fast Breaks. They belong to... candy companies. I just happen to eat them at midnight while trying to get my homework done.
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The sun woke Theo: it was shining brightly with the same twinkling arrogance a digital clock's numbers had when you stared at them at six o'clock in the morning. He hadn't realized that the opening of his tunnel faced east, and so the sun woke him as it made it's leisurely way across the sky. He groaned and crawled out of the tunnel, blinking in the daylight his eyes weren't adapted for, then reached back into the tunnel to get his backpack.
He picked his way carefully down to the small pond in the center of the quarry, and, pulling off his shirt, scrubbed his torso vigorously, as much to wake himself up as to get himself clean. Wrinkling his nose at the state of his old shirt- he really should've taken it off before he dug- he reached into his backpack for another one. A couple of candy bars fell out onto the dirt, and he almost had the shirt over his head before he realized.
One of the candy bars was a Reese's Fast Break, and he hadn't bought any of those. All runaways on the move bought candy bars in bulk: packed with calories and sugar, they were a quick energy fix, besides being easy to transport. Theo always bought Snickers because they felt a bit more substantial to him that other brands, and peanuts were one of his favorite foods. Digging through the rest of his stock, he realized that someone had taken a Snickers and replaced it with a Fast Break between the time he'd gone to sleep and the time he'd gotten up. Which meant most likely they'd seen him use his powers to dig the tunnel. Cursing the mutation that made him squint in sunlight, he looked hurriedly around.
It was only because his back was to the light that he noticed the ratty shoe hanging just below the leaves of a tree. Abandoning the clean shirt, he crept his way as quietly as he could towards the tree. Closer, he could see that the foot was connected to a blue-jeaned leg, which was connected to a girl slumbering on a branch wiith her back against the trunk. He took another step forward and a stick snapped under his foot.
Instantly the girl snapped to life, moving from the branch in what he thought was a fall until she landed catlike on a rock nearby. Green eyes blazed with a predatorial anger as she tensed, ready to strike. Theo got ready to dig into the ground at his feet as they stared, each waiting for the other to make a move.
Then something flickered behind her intense eyes, and she eased back onto her haunches, though the set of her biceps told him she was still tensed to move quickly. "Who are you?" she asked, voice low and husky, like a growl.
"I know you from somewhere," he said, ignoring the question.
"I asked you a question," she snapped, level eyebrows snapping together, and abruptly he realized who she was.
"You're Catherine Davis. The one the FBI is looking for." She was as pretty as her picture, though the black and white drawing hadn't prepared him for the unreal green of her eyes.
"Yes," she hissed. "Now tell me who you are before I use my terrifying mutant powers on you." Though the threat was real enough, backed by her tightly clenched jaw, there was a hint of mockery in it.
"I'm Theo. Lately of Philly. You don't scare me."
"You sure?" she asked, flashing white teeth as her eyes glittered dangerously. Her menacing growl turned into a chuckle when he flinched visibly. "Call me Cat." She lept from the rock to offer him a hand, which he took. She made no comment on his mutation, nor did her handshake lack strength because of it, and he sighed inwardly in relief. So many people changed their minds about befriending him once they saw his hands.
She was shorter than he would have guessed, the top of her head barely level with his nose, and she had the same scrawny frame he knew he had, the sort of underfed look runaways perpetually have, despite occasional trips to soup kitchens. Her clothes were just as worn as his, maybe more. Up close, she seemed to be little more than your common homeless kid.
She dropped his hand and brushed past him towards the pond. "You stole one of my Snickers," he accused.
She plopped down on the ground and pulled one shoe off. "Traded," she corrected. "Traded one of your Snickers."
"I don't like Fast Breaks."
She wrestled the other shoe off- the laces were so tangled and dirt encrusted there was no way they were coming untied- and stuck her feet in the shallow water's edge. "Too bad," she drawled. "I like Snickers."
"Why are you here?"
"Probably the same reason you're here," she said, glancing pointedly at his hands. "Just trying to get away. It was working until you came."
"I won't report you."
"I know." She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket. "Want one?"
"I don't smoke."
She shrugged in the middle of lighting her cigarette. "Your loss. You said you're from Philly?"
"New Jersey, actually. Town near Trenton. You?"
"Alabama," she said, exaggerating her drawl so that he couldn't miss the southern twang. "Been in New York a while, before I came here."
"How'd you get here?"
"Ran, mostly."
"You ran all the way from New York? I hitch-hiked."
She shrugged. "S'not that far. I'm fast."
"I guess so. How long have you been here?"
"What's with the third-degree?" she snapped, but she was grinning. "About a day. I was-" Abrubtly she broke off and snapped to attention. "Shit," she swore, grabbing her shoes.
"What?"
"Coming at us from all directions. Have to be Feds." She glanced at him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Run, or dig, or whatever! They'll arrest you, too." She scampered into the trees.
He snapped out of his frozen stance and grabbed his backpack and shirt, plunging into the ground like a diver into a pool of water.
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I'm trying to illustrate that Cat and Theo's mutation's may not nessicarily (I have so much trouble with that word!) be blessings, so tell me how I'm doing.
And while Cat is attractive, she is also multi-faceted and interesting, with a very not-Mary-Sueish personality. Would a Mary-Sue smoke, I ask you? Smoking is something I abhore, so the answer to that rhetorical question is no.
Review.