AN: Hello to all readers. This story is based on the made-up character Angel Arden. She is a mutant. This is sort of like an alternate universe, so the storylines to the comics may be different. I do not own the X-men, only the characters: Angel, Sharon and Nathan Arden. It is also based on RPs I do with friends. If you wish to check out the X-men forum we formed, check out: http/xmenrpguild. can find me there under the username Eden. Thanks.

Chapter 1

12:01

Eleven thirty-seven flashed on the digital clock. It laid on a small night table beside a bed. There slept a young girl no bigger than ten years old. Her long blonde hair brushed against her cheeks as soft sighs left her rose coloured lips. Around her room inhabited her necessities such as the usual dresser, closet and table. Stuffed animals had their place around the room, keeping watch, as it were. They were mute companions keeping observation on their kind-hearted caretaker in her deep peaceful slumber.

Meanwhile, downstairs Mr. and Mrs. Arden sat quietly in their seats. Mrs. Arden with her light brown hair and matching pair of blue eyes sat in her rocking chair knitting as her husband with blonde hair and hazel eyes read the daily news. It was a cool summer's night as the crickets chirped noisily from outside. From the small window there could be seen the lamp posts lighting up the roads path. Currently, the outdoors was deserted, nothing disturbed the peace and quiet of the community.

The silence soon broke between the Arden couple. They only seemed to be licking their verbal battle wounds from moments ago. Sharon Arden was the first to step back into the conversation. She released a soft sigh. "She's ten now. She has had her powers for 2 years now. I think it's time we focus on it and help her take control of it. We don't want her to use them for something bad. Nathan, we're going to have to start explaining things to her. She needs to know what she is going through…"

Nathan placed his newspaper down and then removed his glasses, rubbing his eyes. "Sweetheart, we have been through this. We already spent two hours on the matter. Quite frankly I'd love to go to bed." Sharon looked cross at him.

"Clearly you're too busy at work to see anything around here! You know what I have to go through? Sometimes our daughter comes home with tears in her eyes. It's bullies from school, Nate! You know the town has been spreading rumours and you know what? These rumours, for once, are true." Sharon took a breath in and talked more softly. "You heard what the doctor said that he can't fix her. There is nothing we or he could do about it so now we are left with our only option, which is help her through this and love her as she is." She took a pause. "Remember, when the doctor, said that in many cases, families and friends are not accepting of someone they know to be a mutant. It is a very rare case that someone would want to live among them."

Nathan jumped in. "Mutant," he said almost completely disgusted with the word. "The term monster could even be used. Why did our daughter have to be a mutant?" It was more like a question he just needed to say out loud, he didn't expect an answer for it.

Sharon looked at him sadly. "Nate dear, it's true that we are faced with negative aspects to the situation such as our daughter is categorised, by some, as a mutant. But I believe we should see it as a wonderful thing, as a gift." Nathan sighed, giving in. He knew all to well his wife was correct. Sharon rose from her seat and sat near her husband, placing a hand on his. She leaned over placing a kiss on his cheek. "We have to tell her sooner or later, before it's too late…" she whispered. They were engulfed in silence for five minutes, reflecting on what was said.

"Well, let us go to bed for now. We can start telling her tomorrow morning." Nathan said softly. Sharon smiled as they began to head for the stairs.

Suddenly, there was a loud clash. A window was shattered, glass flying into the house glittering and sparkling on the wooden floor. A large rock laid in the middle of the sea of glass, logically was the source of the window's destruction. Nathan went over to the rock, noticing a note attached to it and picked it up. It read:

DEATH TO MUTANTS AND

MUTANT LOVERS!

Nathan clutched his fists, crumpling up the note in anger.

A scream cut the air sharply from upstairs. It was followed by a cheer from outside. Sharon ran upstairs and darted to her daughter's room. As for Nathan, he dashed outside catching a glimpse of the attackers. They chanted repeatedly, "Death to mutants and mutant lovers!" as they went back into their car. Laughter echoed through the night air as the vehicle's tires screeched as they drove away, leaving the scene.

Sharon made it into her daughter's room. There was glass everywhere, covering up the floor, teddy bears and the bed. A small part of the wall was sprinkled with crimson. Mrs. Arden cried out. "Angel!" She hurried over and wrapped her arms around the little girl. "Baby, are you alright? Are you hurt?"

"My arm and cheek hurt…" A little voice answered, her cries muffled. Her mother looked to her, noticing little slashes on her daughter's right arm and a long scratch across her cheek. The child's mother picked her up and carried her down the stairs, looking over at her husband. Nate turned to face them, appearing horrified at the sight.

"Is she alright?" He yelled with mixed emotions of sorrow and anger rolled up into one.

His wife was quick to answer. "Shh… She has only a few cuts. Nothing serious. She will be okay."

Nathan walked over and kissed Angel on the forehead. The couple looked to each other. Finally Nate scratched the back of his head. "Sweetheart, it's not safe here anymore. We need to get out of here as soon as possible."

Sharon nodded in reply. "Then I suggest we leave tonight and head to my sisters."

"Alright." Nathan breathed out. "We have no time to pack. Threats like these aren't to be taken lightly."

Angel whimpered in her mother's arms. "I don't… want to leave. This is home." Tears swelled up in Angel's eyes.

Sharon looked down at her, a tear fell down her cheek. Her husband grabbed the keys and went over to Sharon, taking Angel. His wife soon followed, taking the passenger's seat at the front, as Nathan placed their daughter in the back, securing her with a seatbelt. Dark clouds began to roll in, covering the skies. Once everything was ready, Nathan took his seat, started up the car and they left behind the life they knew.

Angel sadly looked out of her window as her home passed before her eyes. Rain began to fall.

The car ride was quiet as ever, no one spoke a word. They were all recovering from the traumatic event, which occurred only moments ago. The only thing that was heard was the repetitive pats of rain droplets hitting the roof of the car. It created a soothing sound, relaxing little Angel as she watched the water stream down the glass of her window, like a tear falling down someone's face. Her sad looking eyes stared out into the darkness of the night.

The car's clock read eleven fifty-three. Angel was too scared to fall asleep. Even though her eyes ordered her to close them, she refused. She shook her head lightly.

"Sharon…" Nate quietly said, trying to hide the concern in his voice, "Look in the right view mirror." His wife's eyes scanned the reflection in the mirror, which showed two vehicles behind them.

"What does it mean?"

"They've been following us for quite some time. It doesn't look good." He began to speed up. What he feared had happened, the two cars echoed what he had done, travelling at a faster speed. Both cars trailed behind, getting closer and closer. Lightening flashed into the dark sky, illuminating the road only for a moment. In seconds, there was a bash to the rear of the Arden's car. It repeated again and again.

"Mommy!" Angel screamed.

Nathan pressed on the gas, moving faster. The second car manoeuvred to the left, hitting the car's side. It left a huge dent in it. Nathan swerved but gained control again. The cars' engines roared like one lion against two. Then the unexpected happened, the two attacking cars braked, stopping in the tracks completely. The cars disappeared as more distance came between them and the darkness covered them.

Nathan released a heavy breath. "Is everyone ok?" He said in a hush tone.

"Yes." Sharon announced.

"I'm alright, daddy." Angel spoke softly, wiping a few tears away.

Nathan broke into a small smile, grateful that his family was unharmed. "You know Angel, you are a really brave girl." Then he turned to his wife. "I don't think they'll be back. They won't be able to reach us by the distance we travelled already. So I think we'll be able to travel smoothly now." His wife looked at him admiringly.

"I think it's time to tell her, Nate. We've been holding this all in for way too long. It's up to us to make this all clear to her what's going on."

"Very well…" He only said those two words then became silent and kept his eyes on the road.

Sharon turned in her seat to look at the matching pair of blue eyes from the identical one's of hers to her daughter's. She placed a loose strand of light brown hair behind her ears before she cleared her throat. "Angel, darling."

"Yes, mommy." Angel automatically answered.

"I have something to tell you, honey. So I want you to listen and try to understand."

Angel nodded.

"From the age of seven, you became," Sharon try to search for the right word, "…different from other people. You had received a gift, a certain power. Your father and I noticed since then that you are what some people call a mutant. You are special Angel. We have seen you are capable of healing or causing physical pain at will, most likely by touch. Do you remember that little bird that fell from its tree one day? You picked it up and fixed its broken wings with only a touch of your hand. But something went wrong and a second later the bird slowly died in your hands. I remember that day, you were so sad… Do you know of this power you have?"

Angel looked into her lap, only nodding. She understood this all to well what her mother was speaking of.

"Alright…Well, in today's world people aren't so accepting. Some have the tendency to fear what they don't understand. That is why there was an attack on the house and car tonight. There are some people who don't agree that there should be gifted people, usually they call them mutants, living in the world. But your father and I want you to remember to use your special abilities for good things. We want to try and help you control those powers so that you are able to stay safe and keep the people around you well too. But no matter what mommy and daddy want you to know that we love you the way you are. We love you very much Angel."

Sharon paused, reaching around her neck. She removed whatever it was and kept it in a fist. Angel's mother stretched out her arm in front of her daughter. She let the object drop, keeping the string wrapped around her fingers. There, sparkled a small crystal figurine of an angel. The crystal glistened beautifully, almost as if it winked at the young girl.

"Do you like it?" Angel's mother questioned.

"Yes! It's pretty, mommy."

"It's yours…"

The blonde hair child's blue eyes lit up at the words. Her mother dropped it in her daughter's lap. Angel placed it in her hand gently as if it were the most precious thing in the world. She admired the little angel in the palm of her hand. It's crystallised body was perfect and emitted beauty. The little girl placed the new necklace on her neck, tying it herself. It sparkled softly once it was in place.

The storm raged on, seemingly only to get worst. The lightening stuck ever so often, having thunder accompany it with every slash that cut through the sky. Rain poured down more violently, washing over the road. It was getting visibly harder to see the road, so Nathan had to pay even closer attention to where he was going.

Sharon looked back at her daughter. "Angel, I want you to hold onto this." She handed Angel a small white envelope. "When you see Aunt Maggie, I want you to give this to her." Angel nodded.

"Ok mom."

Sharon grinned at her daughter, now wearing the necklace. "It looks beautiful on you, baby love."

Nathan looked at his rear view mirror, glancing at his little girl. "Prettier than any angel in the heavens."

Angel made a wide smile but it soon faded as she looked up front through the window. Two huge lights were heading in their direction. "Daddy, look out!" She shouted.

From that moment on everything seemed to go into slow motion. Nathan's eyes scanned back to the road, the car being harder to control with the huge puddles on the road. He tried to drive to the side of the street but the vehicle swerved, sliding slightly now. Sharon had a fearful expression etched on her face. In that split second, a large truck came into view, the front lights blinding Nathan. The car spun out of control, moving headfirst into a massive vehicle. This is when both car and truck collided, crashing into one another. Glass exploded everywhere; the Arden's car was compressed at the head of it. All passengers jerked forward, in the momentum of the crash. Everything seemed to stop as quickly as it started. It was silent, everything held still. Darkness engulfed the scene, killing all of the light that was once there.

Angel's closed eyes flickered before they began to gradually open. She moaned a little finally feeling the pain she was experiencing and blinked, trying to remember where she was. She saw the car windows missing and the whole car was a wreck, it looked nothing like what it had been before. She tried to get up in her seat but she fell back into it. She was reminded of her seatbelt. She struggled in it but it was stuck. Angel gazed up to the front seat. Her parents did not move. Her father was mangled, laying over the steering wheel, covered up in shards of glass. As for Angel's mother, for an instance she did not move, however, suddenly there was a choke of breath.

"Mommy…" The child spoke sadly, tears forming at the sides of her eyes.

"Angel…" Her mother coughed, "keep strong. Remember you are special, don't let anyone tell you otherwise." She coughed again. "We love you…" Angel's mother slowly closed her eyes, taking her last breath. She became motionless.

The car's clock had been stopped from the crash, locked on 12:01.

Angel's eyes went wide in shock. She stuck out her hands but was still tied in her seat. "Mommy wake-up! Dad, open your eyes. I'll help you!" She groaned in frustration. Angel closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in. The little girl carefully reached near the buckle, stretching out trying to reach for it. "Just a little closer," she whispered. She gave it her all and tapped on the belt, freeing herself. Angel sat up and went over to her parents. She touched her mother's face. "Wake-up, please. I'll help you…" She placed her tiny hand at her mother's heart. Nothing happened. Then Angel touched her father's back. "I'll help you get better." She moved her hand to her father's head, touching his soft blonde hair. "Open your eyes, Daddy. Daddy, please?" Still nothing happened, both adults laid still without releasing a single breath of air.

The inner pain of this cut deep into her heart. "Mom and Dad, don't leave me here all alone…" Angel's shoulders shook as she wailed uncontrollably. The tears seemed to come at a never ending pace.

When Angel couldn't take it anymore, she pushed her door open and ran into the harsh rain where the rain came beating down on her. The blonde haired girl ran on the road with her bare feet and got soaking wet very fast wearing only her nightgown. The tears mingled with the droplets of the rain that fell onto her face. Angel was emotionally and physically drained. She was finally worn out. The young girl collapsed to the ground into a puddle of water covered up in blood and mud caked to the bottom of her feet. Her necklace flashed a dark red light. Moments later, it faded leaving her completely alone.