Chapter Two

Rain Wash Me

EDITED - Satori B here, just taking the song out to ensure the story is meeting with the new criteria... Sorry, but if you like you can look up the music and see how well the song goes with the chapter... Later!

Disclaimer: I do not own X-men or Saturnus or their song used in this chapter. Marlee and her gram are mine and were created by me. Don't sue please!

I quickly gave the group another once over before I completely opened the door to let them enter my home. They seemed trustworthy enough. Though, at first look I seem to be a happy-go-lucky teenager with an affinity for dark colours… Only half of that would have been correct. Take a wild guess at which one…

Now that I had a closer look the guy's hair wasn't so blonde. Up close it was more of a dirty blond or…

"Light brown," the redheaded woman supplied for me readily.

... Did I say that out loud? I thought warily. I didn't need them to think I was some weirdo who talked out loud to themselves…
"No."

Gah!

"What's going on?"

She just gave me this eerie grin and stepped into my home.

"Gram!" I called out belatedly, more or less escorting the group in to the hallway, "we've got visitors!"

"Well, send them in, dear," she said in her sweetest grandmotherly tone. I scowl inwardly; she never used that voice when we were home alone. THEN it was more like a screeching banshee with sinus problems.

"I," the woman with red hair started, "am Jean Summers, a professor at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, in Winchester, New York. This is my husband, Scott Summers. As well as Ororo Munroe, a professor at the school and friend of the family, Robert Drake."

"Call me Bobby," he interjected quickly, a look of irritation on his face. He glanced at Mrs. Summers; obviously annoyed she had used his full name.

Mrs. Summers extended her hand out towards my grandmother who shook it to be polite, even though I know she has a thing for hygiene. I bet she was just itching to get out her hand sanitizer…

"How may I help you four?" she asked gesturing for them to make themselves comfortable in the living room. I waited in the hallway for them to sit down, so that way I could choose who I sat beside. I hope there's enough room left on the couch to sit next to 'Robert'…

"We are here to speak to you about Marlee," Scott said simply.

Ooohh crap, what did I do now?

"Well, come in and sit down," she said pointedly, noticing their delay in arranging themselves in the sitting room. "Can I offer you a cup of tea?" My grandmother was such a nice person... in front of company.

"No, we really must get right to the point as we have to leave shortly," Miss Munroe stated. I'm just going to go with calling her Miss Munroe and the redhead Mrs. Summers. I don't often go around calling older women by their given names. Not to mention the fact that I'd be beyond embarrassed if I pronounced Miss Munroe's wrong…

"So then, why exactly are you here?"

I love it when people say what I'm thinking.

"You might want to take a seat Ma'am. What we are about to say will probably come as a shock to the both of you and will change your lives forever."

I looked at them with a puzzled expression and slowly walked away from Gram's umbrella stand and into our cosy little living room to sit on the arm of the chair my grandmother was occupying.

"You," Mrs. Summers said, looking directly at me, "are a mutant."

That was it.

No opening speech.

No 'I'm going to say a whole lot of things that have no relevance to our visit just to draw it out more'.

Hell, not even a 'this is the truth and you have to believe me if you want to live.'

Well, maybe that last one would have been just as bad…

"What?" I cried as soon as I found my voice. I think I had swallowed it and sent it to my kidneys; it was so hard to work that simple statement from my throat. A flood of disbelief washed over me. There was no way she was being serious. This had to be a joke.

Mrs. Summers looked at me sympathetically.

Please be a joke.

"…She's a what?" Apparently Gram was having the same thoughts I was. Of course, she looked a lot more composed than I felt I was.

"You're a mutant, kid. Welcome to the freak show." Bobby obviously thought he was being funny. I shot him a glare to reinforce the message Jean was sending at him with her own silent reprimand.

Scott glared at him too ... okay so you couldn't actually tell if he was glaring or not but he was looking in his direction and frowning so I assumed the glare was under the strange sunglasses.

"You are one of the hundreds of mutants in this world, child. You are not alone in this," Miss Munroe tried to calm me down. It wasn't working too well.

I could feel panic start to overwhelm me, as well as fear. I couldn't be a mutant. Mutants were bad. They stole and killed people and were always on the news for the bad things they've done. I wasn't one of them. I was scared.

I was terrified of what they were. They didn't belong, that's what all the news reports said, what everyone said. I looked to the people in front of me. They were mutants too. But...

"This doesn't make any sense…" I murmured quietly.

"Not all mutants are bad, Marlee. We are just like every other human, except with special abilities," Mrs. Summers said calmly.

I couldn't be one of them… Me? A mutant? I was already labelled as a Satan worshipper, I didn't need extra body parts to confirm their rumours.

"We would like to take her to our school so she can find and develop her powers," Miss Munroe continued to explain.

"What do you mean 'powers'? She can't be a mutant - no one else in the family is," my gram said forcibly, she was trying as hard as I was to convince herself these visitors were lying.

"Sometimes the X gene – the gene that determines who is a mutant and who is not – lies dormant for a couple generations. Sometimes it appears each time. There is not a consistent pattern that it follows. Just believe us when we say that Marlee is a mutant, and without our help her powers could quickly overwhelm and overpower her."

Gram's skin paled at that. If mine wasn't already the color of bleached concrete, I could say that mine did the same. That last tidbit of information sure didn't sound inviting. If they weren't lying… What would happen to me?

"Each mutant had their own special powers and abilities they can use for whatever they

may choose, it's like having a constant magically ability except brought about by DNA." I was so beyond weirded out at the moment. Maybe I'll just wake up and find this was all a dream brought about by those nachos I had before I went to bed the night before. "The Xavier Institute is a place where Marlee can learn to use her abilities without harming herself or those surrounding her. We offer special classes at the school directed towards management of mutant powers. We can enrol Marlee in the school nearby so that she might continue with her education." Mrs. Summers said. I got the feeling that this was a regular spiel that she had to ramble off every time she had to convince someone that they were a genetic anomaly.

I was still working out the idea that the people in front of me were mutants and weren't the evil creatures that the media made them out to be. There was silence in the room as the information sunk in. Except for Bobby's foot bouncing up and down on our faded crimson carpet, there were no other discernable sounds other than our rhythmic breathing.

Gram was the first to break the silence.

"How much would all of this cost? We're just getting by as is. I can't afford to send her to some fancy private school on what I am getting for a pension, especially one that's so far away." Our financial state always brought out a dangerous gleam in my grandmother's eyes. Usually it was as if she were daring the other person to make an unasked for comment, or even a sympathetic glance. It never came though; she was a bit scary in this light. Trust me.

Wait a minute - was Gram seriously considering this?

"All we expect of you is co-operation and trust. All other funds are taken care of."
More unnatural silence. I am not good with prolonged silence. I like noise. That's one reason I always have something playing in the background, even when I'm sleeping.

Once again, Gram was the one who broke the silence.

"Marlee, do you want to go?" Gram was looking at me with unshed tears lining her eyes. Gram was such an awesome person. Even if her choice in winter clothing was abominable. She was always there for me in her special way. I couldn't tell if she wanted me to go or not. What would she do here without me to yell at and make me eat all my vegetables? What would I do without her to wake me up in the morning? I still hadn't even decided if I wanted to go yet myself. Hell, none of this had even been properly processed and I was supposed to have come to a decision already?

"I… I… don't know," I sighed, "is there any way I can let you know later, or tomorrow or something?"

"If that is what you want, get back to us at this phone number." Scott handed me a business card with 'Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters' written on it in fancy penmanship, the number was there as well as fax numbers and mailing address. I took it numbly and handed it to Gram.

They headed for the door. Just as the other three left, Miss Munroe turned and looked directly at me.

In her strange, unrecognisable accent she said, "If you do not wish to do this child you do not have to, but I was once in your position and encourage you to join us at the school. It would be for the best of all." And then she left, closing the door with a soft click behind her. I watched the sleek black car pull out of our driveway and speed down pothole-riddled road. When they were out of sight, I walked over and sat down beside Gram.

"Do you want me to go?" I asked quietly, staring up at a water spot on the ceiling. I meant to paint over it one day. It had always bugged me.

"If it's what you want to do then I'm not going to stop you."

I sighed that was no help

"I'm going to start supper dear, you just let it all sink in and think about it."

I just looked up at my Grandmother, she looked so sad but so happy for me at the same time. She was a strong woman, the type that I look up to. She was my idol. Not that I'd ever admit that to her face.

I started up the stairs to my room when the phone rang.

"Got it…" I looked at the small digital screen... guess who it was.

Pearl.

I sighed. I so didn't need this right now. It rang again. I picked it up and immediately slammed it back down on the receiver.

That made me feel marginally better. I then positioned the phone off the hook so that if she tried to call again all she would get would be a busy signal.

Ah, momentary peace.

I opened the door to my room. My room was what one would call cosy, or box-like. It had red walls and there black highlights painted on them as well. The walls were a deep red and black Japanese characters decorated another wall, another wall sported black patterns of splatter paint (something I totally recommend if you are bored out of your mind and have permission from your parents/guardians.) The other wall hosted my window and the last was covered with posters of my favourite bands. Mostly of my three favourite bands: Iced Earth, Arch Enemy and Pantera. The ceiling held more posters and handprints I'd placed there with a stepladder. People who didn't know me from school would assume that I was a "Goth", or say that I worshiped the devil. This was all due to the type of music I listened to (metal), but music is what I based my room on. Personally I loved it, it fit me well. I lay down on my bed and fell asleep...

I awoke to the sound of my grandmother calling me for supper.

"Coming!" I yelled down the stairs. I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen. I love food. I was washing the dishes when Gram turned on the news. There was some middle-aged woman (with make-up that looked like it was put on with a shovel) on the news interviewing some balding guy in a business suit. I usually don't pay attention to this crap because I don't need anyone telling me just how screwed up our world is today, but this caught my attention.

"Mutants are a threat to the society. They are dangers to everyone if they are not registered. We don't know who they are or what they are capable of. We need to know. They must be stop—" Gram turned the television off. She didn't look happy, in fact she looked rather peeved.

"Gram, what's wrong?"

"Did you hear that Marlee? 'Mutants are a threat to society'…" she snorted in a rather ungrandmotherly-like manner and shook her head, her grey hair quivering in resentment.

"Damn people who think they know everything…"

"Huh?" I was one confused person. I thought Gram didn't like mutants. Was it just because of what Mrs. Summers and the rest of them said today? Just because I was one?

Or, supposed to be one…

I love my grandmother.

"You should go to this school Marlee, it can teach you things - things that would make you better than people like that man. You can learn more about the world and prove the ignorant fools in the media wrong. I want you to go and show 'society' there are still some good mutants."

I sat down beside this strange, opinionated old woman whose expression quickly changed from anger to sadness and I hugged her.

"Okay Gram, if it's what you want." I let go of my grandmother, made her a cup of tea and went into my room to pack. I pulled out my suitcases from under my bed. The last time I had used these… This seemed so familiar to me.

I opened the suitcases and began to sort through my room, packing away my clothes and items of personal value like my cds and posters and, of course, my Care Bear. Yes, a Care Bear, it was the first stuffed animal that I had ever received. It had been a gift from my parents and I always kept him with me. Even if he had the power to completely crush the image I had as a cold-hearted bitch and had done nothing to quash.

All of the room was packed except for my closet; I flicked on the radio because my cds were all packed away. There's good planning for you.

I opened the closet doors and began to sort through my sweaters and jeans. When I finally reached the back of the closet all that was left was the ugly winter jacket that matched the horrid boots my grandmother had tried to make me wear that morning. I picked it up and flung it across the room with the rest of the clothing that would not be moving with me and would most likely be given to the Salvation Army.

"What's… this? …" I took it out from the corner of the closet and into better light so I could examine it further. It was a medium sized wooden box with my name engraved in silver on the top. "Oh my gosh…" I couldn't believe that I had forgotten about this for so long. But then again I was very angry with my parents at that point in time.

Flashback

"How could he do this to me?" I wondered out loud.

He was my father, the man who had raised me since that woman walked out on our lives, why would he just desert me here with her? He promised me he would never do what she did.

"UGH! I can't believe this!"

I threw my suitcases down on my new bedroom floor at Grandma Amelia's house and began to unpack my clothes. A loud rumble sounded outside my window, followed almost immediately by a brilliant flash of lightning. Rain lashed at the glass, searching for a way in and the wind battered at the already weak latch, whining in agony. I glanced out at the most violent thunderstorm I'd ever seen, or since mom left anyways...

I continued to put my stuff away; well, more like throw it in every direction, satisfied by the various crashes and bangs that sounded when the laws of gravity took hold. It was even better when they landed at the same time as a violent rumble of thunder. I soon came to the bottom of my last suitcase. I was disappointed by the idea that I would have no more excuse to throw things.

At the bottom of my bag, I came to a strange box. It had my name written on it in fancy calligraphy, etched into a silver plate on the lid. I flipped it over, my memory catching up to me. I remembered this…

On the bottom it said 'Love Always Mom and Dad'.

"Yeah, Right!" I said sarcastically. "If that's not the most ironic thing I've ever fucking heard." I cursed and threw it in the back of my closet never to be seen again. One last smash, and the tickling of broken glass sounding inside the box mingled with a house-shaking roll of thunder.

"Love always, my ass."

I sat down and just held the box on my lap my hands began to shake. I could feel the tears start the well up in my eyes. It just goes to show you how often I clean out my closet... and how often I've looked for that coat.

I traced my finger over the inscription and a single tear escaped my eye at this point I remembered again what this was.

My parents put this together for me when I was two, I have yet to open it up. My hands trembled more violently now that I started to life the cover off.

Inside, underneath the shards of the mirror that had been housed on the underside of the lid, were pictures of both of my parents and myself at the park and doing family stuff I couldn't remember because I had been so young. Carefully dumping the shards into the trashbin, I took each of the pictures in my hands and looked at them. More tears followed as some of the lost memories continued to return. Dad and I at the park, Dad and I at the zoo...

I continued to sort through the objects, there were more pictures from after mom left, so dad must have kept adding to it for me. There were so many things that showed how much I've changed. I watched as I grew from a toddler to a preschooler, from a preschooler to a bratty seven-year old and then from a seven-year old to a preteen.

"Heh…" it was my little Barney figurine from my first birthday cake, and my first report card from school.

I missed him.

I missed him so much.

What would he think of me now?

I was right out bawling when I seen a wedding picture of him and mom, and one of him and mom with me in the hospital. How happy they looked.

All too soon I was at the bottom of my box.

"Huh? What's this?" I pulled out an off white envelope with my name written neatly in my father's hand. I had just barely broke the seal on it when Gram called my name, I stuffed the letter back into the box with the rest of the mementos and then placed the box inside of my bag, turned off the radio and ran downstairs to see what she wanted. Just before I stepped into the sitting room I wiped the tears from my face. Hoping that I didn't look too pathetic and tear-stained, I entered the room.

"What did you want, Gram?" I rounded the corner, to find that Gram wasn't alone. Mrs. Summers and Miss Munroe were in there with her.

"I called their number," Gram explained softly, pleading at me with her eyes for me not to be angry. "They need for you to leave tonight."

"I am glad that you chose to join us," Miss Munroe spoke and Mrs. Summers nodded in agreement.

I sighed, so much for one last night in my own bed. I was hurt that my gram called without my knowing, but what could you do? I was leaving now, so I might as well let it be and move on. I couldn't hold it against Gram. They wanted me to leave today, Gram didn't.

"I'll be right down," I walked upstairs to get my stuff. I grabbed the three bags and walked into the sitting room.

"We are travelling to Maine tonight and will be staying at a hotel there for the night and will continue for Winchester tomorrow," Jean explained.

I just nodded and smiled wanly. She gave me a searching look. She couldn't possibly know how unsure I was of all this... could she?

"Good bye Gram, I'll miss you."

"Good bye Marlee, don't worry I'll see you soon." She pulled me away from the two women for a moment. "Marlee, be strong. This is what is best for you. I know you don't want anyone to be hurt because you couldn't control your powers – even if your powers haven't surfaced yet. You can always call me. They've promised me that I can come and visit any time I want, and you can visit over vacations." She looked at me, a sad smile on her face, and tears brimming. "Don't worry, dear. If it doesn't work out, you always have a place here. Of course," she paused looking at me teasingly, "I might have to kick out the guy I'd be renting your room out to…"

"Gram!" I said. I was going to miss her so much. I threw my arms around her again – wishing time could stop so I could think of everything I wanted to say to her. But of course, I didn't have that ability.

"Thanks for everything Gram. I'll miss you so much…"

I walked outside into the now pouring down rain. I grimaced; it had been a bright sunny day this morning...

"You made the right choice," Mrs. Summers said looking at me as she loaded my things into the truck of the car, "you're going to like it there."

"I'm sure I will," I said sarcastically while I put the rest of my bags in the trunk and stepped into the back seat. I shut the car door with a little bit more force than was needed and pulled out my mp3 player. I turned it up pretty loud so I know that they could hear it. Miss Munroe gave me a funny look when the music started to play. We backed out of the driveway and I watched my old house disappear into the darkness, I tried to get a good look at it, because who knows when I'd be able to see it again... or if I'd ever see it again. We passed the 'Now leaving Middleton' that was when I knew that this was really happening and that I was on my way to a new life.

Mrs. Summers smiled at me reassuringly in the rear-view mirror. I scowled back and turned to stare out the window.

I might have decided to come out of my own free will, but that doesn't mean I had to be agreeable.

Or that I couldn't give these people hell for the next twenty-four hours.

See you later Gram…

End Chapter