CHAPTER TWO
Of Spiders and Shadows
Peter Parker walked down a scoured clean white hallway. He took pictures of the doors and vials contained within the room the tour guide led him into. "This is where we create the serum that knocks mutants out for hours at a time, when they wake up, they're powerless for awhile..."
Peter watched through the observation window as a man with a white lab coat walked into a brightly lit room; in the center of the room stood a mutant. She had golden-white pupil-less eyes, and a long tail that ended in a kind of knife shape. Her fine pink fur ruffled as wind entered into the room with the scientist; she looked at Peter with a longing expression. Peter looked away from her intense stare to the shackles binding her wrists, ankles and tail. Her tattered clothes let light pass through them, and her purple hair was knotted from not being combed. The scientist approached, needle in hand, the mutant struggled against him as he grabbed her hair and ripped her head backwards. He injected the needle into her neck, her struggling ceased and she fell to her knees, she locked eyes with Peter and she collapsed on the floor.
Peter took a picture of her; her face was hidden by her hair. He wanted to write an article on this, he wanted to show the world that trying to get rid of mutants is wrong. He was one himself after all, having being bitten by a radioactive spider.
He felt as if he could tear the lab to shreds. How could some one be so cruel to an innocent creature? He wasn't going to allow this to happen anymore; the people around him clapped their hands when the scientist came out. Peter scowled and ran out of the building. He leapt into his car and drove to the Daily Bugle, the newspaper that he worked at. He dropped off his photos and left.
It had been two hours since the injection; the mutant should be coming to. Peter put on his costume and swung back to the lab; he crawled on the ceiling, into the same white hallway. He stayed as silent as he could, and he sped into the mutant's room when another scientist left it. She was sitting on the floor hunched over, her face hidden from him. Peter looked around for surveillance cameras, he took out the ones that he saw and silently dropped to the ground. The mutant looked at him with a frightened expression on her face. "I'm not going to hurt you," Peter whispered, her pointed ears twitched at the sound of his voice.
She whispered, "How can I be so sure?" in a voice that sounded as if it hadn't been used for a long room. Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairpin, he unlocked the shackles and the collar around her neck.
"I wouldn't have done that would I?" He smiled although he knew she couldn't see it through his mask. "What's your name?" he asked politely.
"My name?" she looked down at her hands, "They haven't called me by my name since I got here. I think, I think it's Kali. Yeah, that's it, Kali." She looked back at him with her startling eyes. "Do you have a name, hero?" Her pointed teeth were exposed when she talked.
Peter then realized that she must not have been allowed any news, otherwise she would've known him to be none other than Spider-man. "I'll tell you later, let's get you out of here." Peter reached out his hand to her. She took it weakly and he pulled her up, she was almost a head shorter than him. She stumbled a little, and Peter draped her arm over his shoulder to help her walk. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
"I should feel better in a minute or too, I'm used to their tests." She seemed to have regained her voice. As soon as they left the room, Kali was able to stand on her own again. "Ah that's better." She jumped into a shadow and came out a minute later.
"Is there something wrong with the light?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, you see, all mutants have a weakness, as soon as my powers manifested, it turned out that I could control shadow and that I could become shadow too. Light is my weakness." Peter looked at her feet; she walked on her toes like a cat would. Then he saw it, some one was behind them, his Spidey Sense told him so. He turned around and sprayed them with his web.
"Run, Kali!" she took off on all fours, Peter ran behind her. Shadows seemed to leap off walls as they flew into Kali. Then she stopped, she turned around and grabbed Peter by the wrist; Peter felt as if something cold was dumped over his body, he looked around him, it was completely pitch black. Kali was dragging him through a different dimension, little holes of light were scattered all over through which he could see people moving. Kali jumped upwards through a giant hole, she pulled Peter with her, and he gasped as he saw that they were sitting under a tree now.
Kali leaned against the trunk of the tree panting heavily, Peter sat next to her. "That was fun," she said to him. He laughed and took off his mask, not caring if Kali saw him.
"My name's Peter Parker," he ran his hand through his sweat-drenched hair and looked at her, "A. K. A. the Amazing Spider-man." He laughed and went silent. Kali slumped over. "How old are you, Kali?"
"I think I'm nineteen," she smiled sheepishly and held her tail in her hands. Peter couldn't believe that she was this young and having to go through that kind of treatment.
"Do you have a family, or a place to stay?" Peter would've taken her in if she didn't have a place to go.
"My family is dead. So no I have neither." She stared off at the city. Peter pulled on his mask and grabbed her around the waist. "What're you doing?"
"You're staying with me." Peter swung off into the city, holding the pink mutant in one of his arms. She smiled at the feel of the wind through her hair and fur, Peter felt something around his middle, he looked down to see her tail wrapped around him. He looked at her.
"Sorry, I've never been this high up before," she grinned weakly. "A little scared."
An hour passed, the phone rang in Peter's apartment. He lazily shot a web at it and brought it to him, "Hello?"
"Hello, Peter Parker."
"Who is this?" Peter sat up straight in his chair; Kali was staring at the TV intently. She was now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that Peter had given her, her clean hair gleamed in the light coming from the screen.
"My name is Professor Charles Xavier, do not be alarmed. I believe, besides yourself, there is a mutant in your home, I run a school for mutants and well, I'd be happy to take her in. It's my understanding that you don't get a lot of pay for your job. It might be a little hard for you to support two people."
"How do you know this?" Peter stood up and began searching for cameras under his pillows and in corners, Kali turned to watch him.
"I am a mutant; I use my machine Cerebro to find new mutants in the area. Stop looking for cameras there are none." Peter froze instantly. "I'm telepathic."
"Well that explains it," Peter mumbled. "Why do you want to take Kali? Why haven't I ever received a call like this before?"
"You don't need help handling your mutation as it was received rather than you were born with it. If you want to join us, you're more than welcome to though. As for Kali Ferguson, well, she can't exactly go on the streets looking like herself, can she? I can help her." Peter looked at Kali; a puzzled look was on her face.
"Is some one going to come here?" Peter asked.
"Yes, I will send one of my students."
"How long will it be?"
"An hour at most." The man on the other end of the line hung up.
"What's going on?" Kali asked.
"Some one's coming over," Peter said, "if you want to go with them, you can, it's up to you."
"Who's this person? Why are the coming for me? Are there going to be tests involved?" Kali rubbed her neck where she had been injected. Peter closed his eyes. "Well?"
"I don't think there'll be any tests, and I don't know the answers to those questions, but if you don't want to go, mi casa es su casa."
----&----
What's wrong, Kurt? Kurt sighed heavily as he dodged a bomb in the Danger Room.
Let's just say 'vone of a kind' isn't my favorite saying, Professor.
"Good work everyone," Magneto said, as he turned off the course. Magneto had joined the institute a year before. "Remember, later today we are to assign which fleet you're in. Try your hardest at the exams."
Kurt shuffled out of the room, his back was sore from falling off one of the giant claws. He felt Jean put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Kurt?" she smiled prettily at him.
"Ja, I guess so."
"The Professor wants to see you, he has a mission for you," Jean patted his shoulder and flew off somewhere. Kurt teleported to Cerebro.
"Vhat is it, Professor?" Kurt took a few steps toward him and looked at the screen. There was a picture of a building in a city, two red dots were moving inside it.
"Kurt, there is a mutant I want you to recruit for me. Take the X-van into New York City, go to this room. Be creative. Good luck." The professor never looked at Kurt. He teleported to the garage; he turned on his inducer and climbed into the van. His now flesh colored hand gripped the key and turned it, he was headed for the city.
Of Spiders and Shadows
Peter Parker walked down a scoured clean white hallway. He took pictures of the doors and vials contained within the room the tour guide led him into. "This is where we create the serum that knocks mutants out for hours at a time, when they wake up, they're powerless for awhile..."
Peter watched through the observation window as a man with a white lab coat walked into a brightly lit room; in the center of the room stood a mutant. She had golden-white pupil-less eyes, and a long tail that ended in a kind of knife shape. Her fine pink fur ruffled as wind entered into the room with the scientist; she looked at Peter with a longing expression. Peter looked away from her intense stare to the shackles binding her wrists, ankles and tail. Her tattered clothes let light pass through them, and her purple hair was knotted from not being combed. The scientist approached, needle in hand, the mutant struggled against him as he grabbed her hair and ripped her head backwards. He injected the needle into her neck, her struggling ceased and she fell to her knees, she locked eyes with Peter and she collapsed on the floor.
Peter took a picture of her; her face was hidden by her hair. He wanted to write an article on this, he wanted to show the world that trying to get rid of mutants is wrong. He was one himself after all, having being bitten by a radioactive spider.
He felt as if he could tear the lab to shreds. How could some one be so cruel to an innocent creature? He wasn't going to allow this to happen anymore; the people around him clapped their hands when the scientist came out. Peter scowled and ran out of the building. He leapt into his car and drove to the Daily Bugle, the newspaper that he worked at. He dropped off his photos and left.
It had been two hours since the injection; the mutant should be coming to. Peter put on his costume and swung back to the lab; he crawled on the ceiling, into the same white hallway. He stayed as silent as he could, and he sped into the mutant's room when another scientist left it. She was sitting on the floor hunched over, her face hidden from him. Peter looked around for surveillance cameras, he took out the ones that he saw and silently dropped to the ground. The mutant looked at him with a frightened expression on her face. "I'm not going to hurt you," Peter whispered, her pointed ears twitched at the sound of his voice.
She whispered, "How can I be so sure?" in a voice that sounded as if it hadn't been used for a long room. Peter reached into his pocket and pulled out a hairpin, he unlocked the shackles and the collar around her neck.
"I wouldn't have done that would I?" He smiled although he knew she couldn't see it through his mask. "What's your name?" he asked politely.
"My name?" she looked down at her hands, "They haven't called me by my name since I got here. I think, I think it's Kali. Yeah, that's it, Kali." She looked back at him with her startling eyes. "Do you have a name, hero?" Her pointed teeth were exposed when she talked.
Peter then realized that she must not have been allowed any news, otherwise she would've known him to be none other than Spider-man. "I'll tell you later, let's get you out of here." Peter reached out his hand to her. She took it weakly and he pulled her up, she was almost a head shorter than him. She stumbled a little, and Peter draped her arm over his shoulder to help her walk. "Are you alright?" he asked her.
"I should feel better in a minute or too, I'm used to their tests." She seemed to have regained her voice. As soon as they left the room, Kali was able to stand on her own again. "Ah that's better." She jumped into a shadow and came out a minute later.
"Is there something wrong with the light?" Peter asked.
"Yeah, you see, all mutants have a weakness, as soon as my powers manifested, it turned out that I could control shadow and that I could become shadow too. Light is my weakness." Peter looked at her feet; she walked on her toes like a cat would. Then he saw it, some one was behind them, his Spidey Sense told him so. He turned around and sprayed them with his web.
"Run, Kali!" she took off on all fours, Peter ran behind her. Shadows seemed to leap off walls as they flew into Kali. Then she stopped, she turned around and grabbed Peter by the wrist; Peter felt as if something cold was dumped over his body, he looked around him, it was completely pitch black. Kali was dragging him through a different dimension, little holes of light were scattered all over through which he could see people moving. Kali jumped upwards through a giant hole, she pulled Peter with her, and he gasped as he saw that they were sitting under a tree now.
Kali leaned against the trunk of the tree panting heavily, Peter sat next to her. "That was fun," she said to him. He laughed and took off his mask, not caring if Kali saw him.
"My name's Peter Parker," he ran his hand through his sweat-drenched hair and looked at her, "A. K. A. the Amazing Spider-man." He laughed and went silent. Kali slumped over. "How old are you, Kali?"
"I think I'm nineteen," she smiled sheepishly and held her tail in her hands. Peter couldn't believe that she was this young and having to go through that kind of treatment.
"Do you have a family, or a place to stay?" Peter would've taken her in if she didn't have a place to go.
"My family is dead. So no I have neither." She stared off at the city. Peter pulled on his mask and grabbed her around the waist. "What're you doing?"
"You're staying with me." Peter swung off into the city, holding the pink mutant in one of his arms. She smiled at the feel of the wind through her hair and fur, Peter felt something around his middle, he looked down to see her tail wrapped around him. He looked at her.
"Sorry, I've never been this high up before," she grinned weakly. "A little scared."
An hour passed, the phone rang in Peter's apartment. He lazily shot a web at it and brought it to him, "Hello?"
"Hello, Peter Parker."
"Who is this?" Peter sat up straight in his chair; Kali was staring at the TV intently. She was now dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that Peter had given her, her clean hair gleamed in the light coming from the screen.
"My name is Professor Charles Xavier, do not be alarmed. I believe, besides yourself, there is a mutant in your home, I run a school for mutants and well, I'd be happy to take her in. It's my understanding that you don't get a lot of pay for your job. It might be a little hard for you to support two people."
"How do you know this?" Peter stood up and began searching for cameras under his pillows and in corners, Kali turned to watch him.
"I am a mutant; I use my machine Cerebro to find new mutants in the area. Stop looking for cameras there are none." Peter froze instantly. "I'm telepathic."
"Well that explains it," Peter mumbled. "Why do you want to take Kali? Why haven't I ever received a call like this before?"
"You don't need help handling your mutation as it was received rather than you were born with it. If you want to join us, you're more than welcome to though. As for Kali Ferguson, well, she can't exactly go on the streets looking like herself, can she? I can help her." Peter looked at Kali; a puzzled look was on her face.
"Is some one going to come here?" Peter asked.
"Yes, I will send one of my students."
"How long will it be?"
"An hour at most." The man on the other end of the line hung up.
"What's going on?" Kali asked.
"Some one's coming over," Peter said, "if you want to go with them, you can, it's up to you."
"Who's this person? Why are the coming for me? Are there going to be tests involved?" Kali rubbed her neck where she had been injected. Peter closed his eyes. "Well?"
"I don't think there'll be any tests, and I don't know the answers to those questions, but if you don't want to go, mi casa es su casa."
----&----
What's wrong, Kurt? Kurt sighed heavily as he dodged a bomb in the Danger Room.
Let's just say 'vone of a kind' isn't my favorite saying, Professor.
"Good work everyone," Magneto said, as he turned off the course. Magneto had joined the institute a year before. "Remember, later today we are to assign which fleet you're in. Try your hardest at the exams."
Kurt shuffled out of the room, his back was sore from falling off one of the giant claws. He felt Jean put a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright, Kurt?" she smiled prettily at him.
"Ja, I guess so."
"The Professor wants to see you, he has a mission for you," Jean patted his shoulder and flew off somewhere. Kurt teleported to Cerebro.
"Vhat is it, Professor?" Kurt took a few steps toward him and looked at the screen. There was a picture of a building in a city, two red dots were moving inside it.
"Kurt, there is a mutant I want you to recruit for me. Take the X-van into New York City, go to this room. Be creative. Good luck." The professor never looked at Kurt. He teleported to the garage; he turned on his inducer and climbed into the van. His now flesh colored hand gripped the key and turned it, he was headed for the city.