Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evolution.
They'd been walking for forever it seemed, at least to Mari. Will seemed unaffected by their hike, and just kept going.
They didn't talk for the most part, just kept walking, Will not looking anyone they passed in the eye, ignoring the mocking shouts. Mari was outraged. No one should be treated like that, no one.
She gritted her teeth as they walked, reaching forward and grabbing Will's hand, he looked at her curiously and she just squeezed his hand.
"Don't listen to them" She said angrily, glaring at the people on the busy street.
Will smiled weakly and they continued to walk.
After a group of teenage girls from Mari's school passed them, shouting insults loudly, Mari couldn't take it anymore.
If only they could feel the pain that Will was feeling now, the pain that she was feeling, times by ten.
The four girls suddenly fell to their knees sobbing, screaming out in agony.
Mari gasped and looked to Will for answers. "They aren't really hurt, you made them think that they were' He looked up at her, awe written on his face.
She started running, followed by Will.
"I didn't mean to do that" She whispered when they had found a back road, and no people were around to stop and hurt them.
Will gestured for them to stop walking and she obeyed, sitting down on the walk.
She was puffing slightly, and surprisingly, so was Will; she was beginning to think he was invulnerable to tiredness.
"Hold on, I saw a shop around the corner, I'll go get some water" She said, and Will handed her the bag.
When she returned, feeling slightly refreshed after taking some of the water, she couldn't find Will.
She looked around but he was no where to be seen, suddenly something brushed past her leg. She looked down to find a black and white cat rubbing against her leg.
She bent down to pick it up when something hit her. This was Will! She started laughing and scratched the cat behind its ear.
It started purring and she smiled. "So Will, this is your power. Awesome."
She poured some water from the bottle into her hand and held it out for the cat to take a drink.
She sighed, closing her eyes and resting her head against the wall. The cold brick made her feel more comfortable for some reason and she allowed her self to drift away into sleep.
When she forced herself a wake she didn't have a clue where she was, at least, until the memories all came piling back in. She resisted the urge to crawl up in a bawl and cry and instead stood to her feet and dusted herself off.
She glanced around, wondering where the Will-Kitten had gotten too.
She heard a bang, followed by a string of curses and her eyes flew to the source of the sound.
Will was trying to get out of a small box, which he had obviously slept in, in his cat form and was now have a difficult time getting back out.
The very human Will managed some how and turned back to his friend.
Mari smiled at him, before passing him the water bottle which he took gratefully. Checking her watch she discovered that they'd been sleeping for a good three hours.
Now I know what homeless people feel like, she thought to herself, Man, as soon as everything is back to normal I'll be so much nicer to them.
Then it hit her like a freight train. What if things never went back to normal, what if she was to live on the streets forever?
Will interrupted her thoughts "Well, I guess it won't be so lonely now. I do, after all, have a friend now" Mari smiled.
They both did.
They spent seven days in that street, buying food when they needed it, and just talking. They learned a lot about each other, and Mari tried creating mental images whenever she could, but found she had limited to almost no control over it.
It was early one morning when they saw a group of people approaching,
Mari recognized the two boys from the alley earlier that day, but this time, they had friends. Six of them in total and they did not look happy.
Will jumped to his feet; wincing a little at the pain it caused his side. He did heal faster in Cat form but it was still sore.
Mari hid behind him, very afraid of what they'd do to them.
"Mari, can you get rid of them?" Will asked quietly as they approached.
"I don't know how!" She whispered worriedly.
Will set his lips in a thin line, he'd protect the girl if it was the last thing he did.
The first two boys reached for him, punching him soundly in the stomach. He retaliated by kicking the first in the groin, and the second got a hard punch to his jaw.
The others started to close in on him, and he put up a good fight, two were unconscious before they finally managed to get him down. Even unconscious the three guys kept kicking him repeatedly in the stomach.
Mari screamed at them to stop, and when they all turned their attention towards her she knew she should've run.
She turned and bolted, running as fast her legs would carry her, hoping not to get lost.
But they knew the alleys better then her and soon closed in on her as well.
She'd never been so afraid in her life, and whimpered as they backed her against the wall.
She thought frantically of a way out, and saw one of the boys near the back that looked weak, if she kicked him he'd crumble and she could make a break for it.
The boy bent over double and she hadn't even kicked him yet. She was just as shocked as the others.
They all turned to her again "She's a mutant too!" The first one shouted, kicking her feet from under her. She yelped as she hit the hard floor and tried to scramble away.
Another of the boys put his boot down hard on her ankle and she was sure she heard a snap.
She rolled onto her back and tried to claw at their faces as they moved in on her.
One of the boys was stealing her shoes, and she realized that these weren't just normal kids with nothing better to do, looking at them all she noticed how threadbare their clothes were, and that only two had actually shoes.
She forced her attention on getting away, and bit the first person to get to close. He let out a yelp and scrambled away from her, another two taking his place.
She wasn't holding up very well, and when she glanced at a moaning Will she was glad to see he was alive, albeit not in good shape, but alive none the less.
They'd stopped stealing her clothes now and suddenly started kicking her.
She was screaming at them to stop, her arms covering her face to protect it. A hard kick to her stomach knocked all the wind out of her and she started gasping.
Three boys had left, to steal her bag no doubt, and it only left two to her. But that was enough, she couldn't fight them anymore.
They kept kicking her repeatedly and her head swam, she couldn't think straight anymore. One of the boys lifted her up by her shirt and pushed her against the brick wall. Causing her to yelp, he grinned and drew her back smashing her against it again, her head rocked back and hit the wall hard.
Her head was pounding and blackness was overtaking everything.
Just before she lost consciousness she saw figures approaching and she hoped that they weren't more of the boys. They started shouting and that's when she gave into pain and slumped to the ground.