NOT THIS FAMILY

Lyra stared into the barrel of the gun, fear binding her arms to her sides.

'I always new you'd turn out strange. How could I have such a creature produced by my genes? How could mon enfant be a Mutant?' He snarled, his accent, a strange combination of that of a Parisian and a Polynesian. The click of the safety guard being released made her sick. 'Jacques – please don't do this.' Her mother, Beatrice Heyington De Cloyes, begged, a bruise slowly forming on her angular cheek.

'Pourquoi? I will not be the father to a freak!' He lined up the pistol.

Moments ago, she had been revelling in the joys of her newly acquired birthday presents, for it was her birthday, her 11th to be exact. She had always been different to the rest of her family. Her father was a culinary master, famous for his dishes around the globe, her mother was a Eurasian beauty, actress turned politician and her older sister, Electra, was blonde, contrary to her parents, her father, a mousey brown and her mother, jet black. She was boarding in America, some school for gifted youngsters.

She looked to her mother for comfort, her black eyes searching the womans emerald green ones, the ones that Lyra used to have...

The front door opened on the other side of the elegant house and her sister's loud voice reverberated off the gold leaf wallpaper. 'Papa!' she called again, her accent had an American twinge.

She reached the door, wheelie bag in hand.

'Papa?' She looked from the gun, to Lyra, to her fathers blood thirsty eyes. 'What the hell -?'

the little black haired girl ran and rapped her arms around her waist. 'Sparky!' she said, her voice muffled by the chunky blue sweater that Electra was wearing.

'What are you doing?'

Her father turned and lowered the gun so it pointed directly at the back of Lyras head. He wanted to bury a bullet in her right there and then; his hatred for the cowering child was almost palpable.

'Elle est un anomalie! She is a Mutant!' He screamed.

She looked down at her little sister. 'Père, I know you only have one bullet in that gun but your going to need two'

The lamps in the room shattered and electricity crackled in the room, the sparks surrounding the blond.

The gun went off, and for a moment Lyra had though he had missed but then, her sisters grip lessened, her body went limp in her arms before falling into a heap, blood spilling from the wound in her chest.

'MONSTRE!!! MONSTRE!!!' She screeched, delivering a powerful blow square into his handsome jaw. His head was thrown back with a sickening crack, blood spilling from his open mouth. He fell to ground in the same manner as Electra had, his body lying unattended to on the venitian rug.

Her mother got up and reached out for the small girl. Her hands where shaking and so was her voice. 'I-I need you to go to Am-erica, go down to the docks, you remember Remy? His father will be there, he owns a boat, he will take you to New York.' The woman handed her a small business card that bore the same "X" as Electra's school jumper. 'The man there will help you'

-

'Look how he treated you, his own daughter. The hate for mutants destroys families, Chase, not this one. Come back, sister, you belong with the Brotherhood.' Phoenix whispered, appearing again to her in dream form.

'NO!' she screamed, turning her back on the glowing form of her teacher. 'I won't!'

The sound of malevolent laugher rang out in the empty space. 'Well your running straight to us, Lyra, your coming home'