CHAPTER DOS!
I still own nothing, but now, actually, I own a large llama named Franz Edward II.
The girl sighed, looking out the window of the drugstore she worked in. It was grey, drizzling, and bleary outside. She sometimes hated this city, because it was just so darn…grey.
It was late afternoon, almost evening, around 5:00pm. She would be done her shift in –she checked her watch- two minutes. She was thinking hard about her mother's latest boyfriend. Bo, that was his name, had punched her earlier this afternoon, while her mother poured herself a drink of vodka and declaring, "You need to get out of this house and find somewhere else to live! Zia, you're driving me insane!"
Zia Tarlen was her name, and she was 17 years old. She rarely attended high-school, but was still rather smart for a drop-out. She couldn't wait until she was 18, then she could move out and make her own decisions.
She checked her watch. Exactly 5:00. Grinning in triumph, she quickly walked toward the door, and waited for the city bus that loyally took her home every day, except for Holidays and Sundays.
She ran up to the door and into her smoke-smelling house. Her mom and her boyfriend were sitting there, glaring at her, in the living room. She glared right back.
"Well, guess what Mr. Deutechen told us, today, Zia. He had a very strange story of what you did to him last night." Her mom tried to sound parental, but Zia could tell she had been drinking. Her eyes were out of focus.
"What?" Zia was truthfully without a clue.
"You're a mutant," growled her mother. Zia blanched. She hadn't told them, and she had planned to keep it that way.
"So what?" she replied, trying to appear calm.
"So, we don't like freaks in the house! You're a first-class mutie, and I won't have it!" roared Bo, jumping up and taking a swing at her. It hit her squarely in the eye, and the force of it slammed her into the door. Blinking, seeing stars, she groaned and gasped as she was continually kicked and punched everywhere. After only 5 minutes, her face was streaming blood and she was sure her ribs were cracked.
Somehow, she stumbled into her room and packed her things into a sports bag. She was thrown out the door into the skies now pouring rain. Buckets and buckets cascaded down as she walked toward the bus stop. When the bus finally came and she got on, she didn't know who was controlling her, but she wordlessy handed the bus-driver the card that the mystery man had given her.
Zia jumped off the bus and into a puddle. She stared up at the sprawling grounds, long driveway, and enormous mansion before her. This was a stupid idea, she cursed herself silently as the bus pulled away. But then again, where else will I go?
She walked up to the huge gates. A camera attached to the top zoomed around and stared at her for a long moment. She examined herself, from her ratty hair to her well-worn sweatshirt, to her patched jeans and sneakers. She probably wasn't going to be admitted through the gates. To her surprise, however, they opened creakily. She slipped through, and began to walk up the long driveway, limping. Bo had hurt her bad. Although the rain had washed away most of the blood, she was bruised all over, and she was sure she was going to pass out sooner or later. She zoned out in her own pain.
Before she knew it, she had tripped over the stone steps leading up to a handsome oak door. Groaning, she lifted herself up and knocked on the brass knocker loudly.
A tall, violently red-haired woman opened the door. She smiled warmly, beckoningly inside.
"Please, come in. We were expecting you."
Zia gave her a weird look as she followed her inside to a spacious entrance hall, with doors off to the side and a large staircase. She led her into a through a series of doorways. Zia was too tired and too weak to care where she was going. She finally stopped outside a mahogany door. The lady knocked twice. The door opened.
It was obviously an office or study of some kind. Sitting in a high-tech looking wheelchair, a bald man smiled. Zia only stared at him.
"Thank you Jean, that will be all." Jean left, the door clicking behind her.
"I…I was told I could get help here." started Zia. "And, I need it," she regretted her weak words.
"Well, then, you came to the right place. I am Charles Xavier, and this is my school for gifted youngsters. You are taught how to control your mutation, alongside others like you." Zia nodded, not knowing what she should say.
'Tell me, Zia, what is your mutation power?' said a voice somewhere in her head.
Zia looked at Xavier, shocked. He smiled. 'I am a telepath. I can read people's thoughts, communicate with my mind, and make people do things.'
"Erm…" Zia didn't know what to say after this little speech. "Well, I can gather things from the energy sources around me, including the elements and living energy if other fuel isn't available, and form them into things. Like this…"
A blue-silver dagger formed in her hand, looking almost translucent, but undoubtedly solid.
"Fascinating. Well, I hope you will feel at home here. Now, I noticed that you have received some…er…injuries. I think you should be escorted to the medi-lab, and then sent right to sleep. It's apparent you've had a long, tiring day." Xavier smiled graciously at Zia. Zia lifted up the corner of her mouth for a split second, then returned back to her intense stare.
A pretty, auburn-haired woman with a white streak through her hair opened up the door quietly.
"Prof, ya wanted to see me?" She asked, with a Southern drawl.
"Yes, please escort Zia down to the medi-lab, she needs some immediate attention." He turned to Zia "Zia, this is Rogue, one of the members of the X-men. She, alongside others, call themselves the X-men. We fight against the evils of the world, and help keep it safe for everyone, mutant and human."
Zia stared him directly in the eye, surprised. "But why fight for a world that hates you?"
Xavier smiled sadly. "Why wouldn't we?"
Zia nodded. She followed Rogue out of the door and into a long carpeted hallway. Rogue smiled at her.
"Ya'll like it here. Everyone's real nice. But who gave you those shiners?" She pronounced here 'he-uh', nice 'nahce', and shiner 'shina'. Zia half-shrugged, not wanting to present her problems at home to this complete stranger.
"Alraght, then," said Rogue gently. "Well, my powers are super-strength, flying, and I can also absorb people's thoughts and powers."
Zia noticed only her head was uncovered by material. She looked at the woman with a new kind of respect.
They walked along in silence, and then arrived at silver sliding doors. They walked through.
Zia froze. There were all types of needles, and weird, lethal-looking instruments. Breathing hard, she cursed herself for falling into such a trap. This was a mutant-lab, where they were going to do all sorts of horrific experiments on her. Putting her hands casually in her mangy sweatshirt pocket, she slowly and silently drew two hand-length daggers in each hand. She wasn't going down without a fight.
A large, blue, furry shape moved out of a door to her right. He smiled.
"Ah, Zia, arrived right on time. I'm Doctor McCoy, call me Beast, and I'm the resident doctor here," he said. Zia just glared at him. He seemed unperturbed by her hostility. "Now, if you could just lie on this bed here, I can begin to inspect you." Zia snorted.
"Yeah, like I'm just going to hop on the bed like a good little girl." She backed away slowly toward the door.
"Darlin, we ain't goin ta hurt ya!" said a shocked Rogue. "We just want to clean up those injuries."
With labored breath, Zia backed towards the door. There was a funny ringing in her head. Rogue made a move toward her. She pulled out the daggers as quick as lightning. Rogue froze, and Beast cursed softly.
"Zia, honey, calm down, you'll get yourself ahl worked up!" Rogue looked genuinely worried. Zia wished the screaming in her head would die down. Were those voices, added along to the terrified shrieking? She was going to vomit, she knew it. As her legs buckled and she fell to the ground, Zia had a sense of her world crashing along right with her as she felt a blinding hot pain in her head.