Very vaguely connected to the X-men mythos, this story explores a much more realistic mutant but adds an interesting twist. Hope you enjoy it
Chapter 1
"Mr. Ford," a frail woman's voice whispered to the unconscious man lounging in the chair. She shook him lightly and he began to stir. His eyes came into focus and he looked upon a scene of utter tranquility. Two men were asleep in chairs on the opposite side of the room and the only thing that moved was the small figure of the nurse before him. She stood up straight and began to speak to him once more. "Mr. Ford, wake up"
His senses began to return; he remembered where he was and why he was here; who he was here to see. Frantically, he began to fire questions at the bewildered nurse. "The baby. How is it? What is it? What weight? Caroline? How is she? Is the baby alright?" The two men on the other side of the room awoke at his frantic questions.
"Mr. Ford, calm down. The baby's fine. There were some complications though." Her voice trailed off at the end as Mr. Ford's face turned from delight to horror in a split second.
"Complications? What comp…" he asked before being cut off by the nurse.
"Please, Mr. Ford, take a seat." Her eyes had a solemn look that meant only one thing.
"Oh no, no, no, no, don't say it. Please, don't say it." A look of terrible grief came across his face as he slumped down in the chair.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Ford, your wife died 5 minutes ago." A tear appeared in the corner of the nurses' eye as she watched the poor man in front of her break down and cry. She sat with him, rubbing his back in a rhythmic consoling fashion. He sobbed for almost 10 minutes before another nurse came and replaced the small blonde woman. She helped him up and asked him to follow her along the corridor.
The second nurse was a lot taller than the last and she had a much more experienced face. Her round glasses magnified her green eyes and her long brown hair swayed in a ponytail behind her. "I am very sorry for your wife's death, Mr. Ford. She kept herself alive for so long knowing that she had to for the sake of your child. Don't let that go to waste. Cherish her, that's what Caroline would have wanted. May I ask what your daughter's name is?"
A weak smile appeared across the grief stricken face of Thomas Ford as he realised the truth of her words and heard of his daughter for the first time. "Constance. Caroline always wanted her to be called Constance."
"Constance, a wonderful choice. Constance Ford," she mumbled while scribbling it down on her clipboard. "Caroline passed on peacefully, your conscience is cleared Mr. Ford. Her soul is free now and a part of her lives on in Constance"
The smile grew slightly as he took in the nurses comforting words. "How is she?" he asked, still sobbing slightly, as they stepped through a double door into a small room.
"As I'm sure Nurse Peters explained, there were some complications during the birth. She is perfectly healthy and of a good weight but there is an enigma about her; something that the Doctors cannot explain. Take a look for yourself."
The nurse stepped aside to let Mr. Ford past. He looked over the side of the plastic crib to see his daughter for the first time. His eyes were still hazy from the tears earlier and couldn't make out any features. It took him a couple of seconds to focus, buy when he did he jumped back horrified at what he was seeing.
"Enigma?" Mr. Ford asked the nurse, trying to understand what he had just seen but not daring to look once more. He came to a quick conclusion. One that many more parents were hearing in this day and age. "Mutant?"
"No sir, she isn't a mutant. The complication seems to be only physical and not caused by an active x-gene. We're not sure how much it will affect her mental health. Your daughter in her own way is unique."
"So what exactly do you call that? What's happened to her, I mean." Mr. Ford asked, still not understanding that the nurse knew only as much as he did.
"We don't sir. We just call it as we see it. Your daughter has an unexplained occurrence at birth. Multi-Visio Syndrome, Doctor Brant has named it." She jotted something down on the sheet. "Constance Ford. Born with three faces."