DISCLAIMER: Etc., etc. I think you know what I'm gonna say. Although I
have tried long and hard (not!) I do not own the X-men and probably never
will. Thank you and good night.
~~~~~~
My eyesight is still messed up I realize as I run drunkenly across the grass towards the parking lot. I don't know where to go - I can't go home right now. I just can't. Not when my parents are home and where people will know to reach me. I stumble and suddenly, I see a jeep driving towards the football field - but that's not the weird thing. What is, is that I see an identical jeep several seconds, minutes, whatever later. Right in front of me, or more accurately, where it's going to be - on top of me.
At the current moment in time, I feel like shit and I really don't care if it hits me, but for some reason my body slows on its own accord. Which is good, I guess because I'm not flattened into road kill. But I still don't feel very good as I slam into the dark green hood of it as the brakes screech in protest. Surprised, as though I didn't expect it to hit me, I look up sharply into Lance's eyes. Pietro is sitting next to him, gripping the windshield frame in earnest.
The impact is enough to jar my eyes back into 'normal' mode and a look of shock covers Lance's face as he watches them swirl from gray to violet. Pietro doesn't see, he's looking at Kitty as she runs towards the jeep, no doubt eager to spread the word of what happened. Jean's following close behind.
I push off the hood and turn so hard over my left shoulder that I spin out of control and land on my butt, ungracefully. But I'm not stopped so easily. Seeing that they're quickly covering ground, I jump back up and dash off across the street. Behind me I hear shouts as Lance and the others call for Pietro to come back. Which means that he's now chasing me. Great. How can I outrun him? The fastest guy on the basketball team, for cripe's sake! What's wrong with me? The hottest guy in the universe is chasing me and I'm running away. Am I taking drugs, or what?
Up ahead I can just make out a bench, sitting forlorn in the darkening sky. A street lamp turns on next to it as dusk approaches. As soon as it comes into my line of vision, I feel the weight of my sprint settling on my body like a sledgehammer. I'm so tired. A quick glance over my shoulder confirms that Pietro is still there, gaining on me rapidly, appearing as if he's not tired at all, simply not going his top speed. I groan and unexpectedly have an idea.
Quickly, my eyes shift back to the lucid gray and I view myself sitting on that bench several minutes from now as my hands form a swirling ball. I toss it upward into the air, ahead just a little so that when it falls back down, it lands on top of me --
-- and here I am, sitting on the bench under the streetlight. Upon careful observation, I verify that Pietro has not left yet, but he is really far behind. It's almost as if I stepped through time and left everything else the way it was. Sighing, I lean back and wait for him to catch up. I don't really want to talk to him, but I figure if I'm stopped anyway, then why not.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I jump in my seat, eyes flying back open. I guess I dozed off, but a glimpse of my watch displays the time as having not passed at all. I look at him as if he's crazy.
"How'd you get here so fast?" He lets out a breath, shoving his hands in his pockets, then moves to join me on the bench.
"I'm a mutant."
"What?!" I pitch to my feet, staring at him. I cannot believe this.
"I'm a mutant. I can run and move at extraordinary speeds. What about you?" He looks at me as if we are having the most normal conversation in the world. Glancing left and right in disbelief, I finally decide to take him seriously and start to sit back down. Then he stands. "Codename's Quicksilver. Do you have one?"
"No!" I cry. "I'm not even a mutant!" Yeah, I know it's a lie, but hey, would you admit you were to someone you don't even know?
"That's not what I heard from several reliable people. Not to mention what I just saw. No one can outrun me. Especially by that great a distance."
"Fine," I huff. "I can...see time and pass through it."
"Can't we all?" I give him a dirty look and he shuts up with the sarcastic remarks. "Sorry." I turn to leave. "Don't go."
"Why?" He stares at his feet, then walks over to me. I stay, frozen in place as he moves to within an inch of my face. I can smell his cologne - a very nice scent for him, I might add. He places his hands on both of my biceps, rendering me unable to move away. I stare into his eyes, my own beginning to change back to gray.
"What do you see happening between us?" he asks. Startled, I blink. Realizing he's serious, I glance around at the gorgeous twilight and twinkling stars, before back at him.
"I...see you walking away from me..."
"You mean I don't get to kiss you?" I look past him or, more likely, through him, not registering the comment.
"You...leave..." I squint my eyes in pain from the effort. "...because of something I say." Shaking my head, my vision returns to normal and I suddenly take into account what I'd seen and said. And I smile. "I guess you were too afraid to act on your feelings for me."
He looks as if he's been slapped across the face, he's so hurt. He takes a step back from me.
"Well, if that's what you think, fine." He pivots on his heel and strides away, before, mid-stride, stopping. He turns back around and faces me with a strange look across his face. "It's not destiny. I can change it." I just look at him. And he jogs back over, grabbing me in his arms as he forces his lips onto mine. I gasp, surprised, yet somewhat pleased.
Pulling back, he gazes at me, still encasing me in his well-muscled (like the rest of his body) arms.
"See." Indeed, I do. Stunned, I stand there like I'm deaf and dumb, frozen in the last obtained position. He smiles and leans towards me again. Jolting, I push him away.
"No." And I turn and sprint off again. Only this time, he's right beside me, then ahead of me. I stop, my tennis shoes skidding on the dirt-covered asphalt of the park when I see him halted in front of me, arms folded across his chest. Quickly, I look behind me, then back to him.
"What the...how the..?"
"I told you - I'm a mutant." I feel faint. A little dizzy, too. A little too dizzy, too. My eyes roll back into my head as I begin to collapse onto the asphalt. Then, suddenly --
-- My world goes black.
~~~~~~
My eyesight is still messed up I realize as I run drunkenly across the grass towards the parking lot. I don't know where to go - I can't go home right now. I just can't. Not when my parents are home and where people will know to reach me. I stumble and suddenly, I see a jeep driving towards the football field - but that's not the weird thing. What is, is that I see an identical jeep several seconds, minutes, whatever later. Right in front of me, or more accurately, where it's going to be - on top of me.
At the current moment in time, I feel like shit and I really don't care if it hits me, but for some reason my body slows on its own accord. Which is good, I guess because I'm not flattened into road kill. But I still don't feel very good as I slam into the dark green hood of it as the brakes screech in protest. Surprised, as though I didn't expect it to hit me, I look up sharply into Lance's eyes. Pietro is sitting next to him, gripping the windshield frame in earnest.
The impact is enough to jar my eyes back into 'normal' mode and a look of shock covers Lance's face as he watches them swirl from gray to violet. Pietro doesn't see, he's looking at Kitty as she runs towards the jeep, no doubt eager to spread the word of what happened. Jean's following close behind.
I push off the hood and turn so hard over my left shoulder that I spin out of control and land on my butt, ungracefully. But I'm not stopped so easily. Seeing that they're quickly covering ground, I jump back up and dash off across the street. Behind me I hear shouts as Lance and the others call for Pietro to come back. Which means that he's now chasing me. Great. How can I outrun him? The fastest guy on the basketball team, for cripe's sake! What's wrong with me? The hottest guy in the universe is chasing me and I'm running away. Am I taking drugs, or what?
Up ahead I can just make out a bench, sitting forlorn in the darkening sky. A street lamp turns on next to it as dusk approaches. As soon as it comes into my line of vision, I feel the weight of my sprint settling on my body like a sledgehammer. I'm so tired. A quick glance over my shoulder confirms that Pietro is still there, gaining on me rapidly, appearing as if he's not tired at all, simply not going his top speed. I groan and unexpectedly have an idea.
Quickly, my eyes shift back to the lucid gray and I view myself sitting on that bench several minutes from now as my hands form a swirling ball. I toss it upward into the air, ahead just a little so that when it falls back down, it lands on top of me --
-- and here I am, sitting on the bench under the streetlight. Upon careful observation, I verify that Pietro has not left yet, but he is really far behind. It's almost as if I stepped through time and left everything else the way it was. Sighing, I lean back and wait for him to catch up. I don't really want to talk to him, but I figure if I'm stopped anyway, then why not.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I jump in my seat, eyes flying back open. I guess I dozed off, but a glimpse of my watch displays the time as having not passed at all. I look at him as if he's crazy.
"How'd you get here so fast?" He lets out a breath, shoving his hands in his pockets, then moves to join me on the bench.
"I'm a mutant."
"What?!" I pitch to my feet, staring at him. I cannot believe this.
"I'm a mutant. I can run and move at extraordinary speeds. What about you?" He looks at me as if we are having the most normal conversation in the world. Glancing left and right in disbelief, I finally decide to take him seriously and start to sit back down. Then he stands. "Codename's Quicksilver. Do you have one?"
"No!" I cry. "I'm not even a mutant!" Yeah, I know it's a lie, but hey, would you admit you were to someone you don't even know?
"That's not what I heard from several reliable people. Not to mention what I just saw. No one can outrun me. Especially by that great a distance."
"Fine," I huff. "I can...see time and pass through it."
"Can't we all?" I give him a dirty look and he shuts up with the sarcastic remarks. "Sorry." I turn to leave. "Don't go."
"Why?" He stares at his feet, then walks over to me. I stay, frozen in place as he moves to within an inch of my face. I can smell his cologne - a very nice scent for him, I might add. He places his hands on both of my biceps, rendering me unable to move away. I stare into his eyes, my own beginning to change back to gray.
"What do you see happening between us?" he asks. Startled, I blink. Realizing he's serious, I glance around at the gorgeous twilight and twinkling stars, before back at him.
"I...see you walking away from me..."
"You mean I don't get to kiss you?" I look past him or, more likely, through him, not registering the comment.
"You...leave..." I squint my eyes in pain from the effort. "...because of something I say." Shaking my head, my vision returns to normal and I suddenly take into account what I'd seen and said. And I smile. "I guess you were too afraid to act on your feelings for me."
He looks as if he's been slapped across the face, he's so hurt. He takes a step back from me.
"Well, if that's what you think, fine." He pivots on his heel and strides away, before, mid-stride, stopping. He turns back around and faces me with a strange look across his face. "It's not destiny. I can change it." I just look at him. And he jogs back over, grabbing me in his arms as he forces his lips onto mine. I gasp, surprised, yet somewhat pleased.
Pulling back, he gazes at me, still encasing me in his well-muscled (like the rest of his body) arms.
"See." Indeed, I do. Stunned, I stand there like I'm deaf and dumb, frozen in the last obtained position. He smiles and leans towards me again. Jolting, I push him away.
"No." And I turn and sprint off again. Only this time, he's right beside me, then ahead of me. I stop, my tennis shoes skidding on the dirt-covered asphalt of the park when I see him halted in front of me, arms folded across his chest. Quickly, I look behind me, then back to him.
"What the...how the..?"
"I told you - I'm a mutant." I feel faint. A little dizzy, too. A little too dizzy, too. My eyes roll back into my head as I begin to collapse onto the asphalt. Then, suddenly --
-- My world goes black.