A/N: Hello everyone! It's been quite a while since I've updated this. Four months, I think. Been very busy though and haven't had time to keep up with all of my ongoing projects here. But that news aside, I've managed to type this short update for you and hope that it's up to par with the rest.
Speaking of which, please enjoy this little snippet.
EOOOOOOOOO
Scarlet sat in Professor Xavier's office, waiting for the old man to show up for their impromptu meeting. She'd been ordered to go to see the man by both Jean and Scott after some problems she had caused in class. It seemed that making someone's Bunsen burner flare up while they were using it and making all the desks levitate in a room was something that needed to be addressed by the man in the chair.
I don't even want to be here, Scarlet thought, picking at a hole in her jeans. Not in this room. Not in this school. Not in this country…Hell, I don't even want to be on this planet.
The sign on the desk bearing Professor Xavier's name wiggled as Scarlet fought against her darker thoughts. Suicide was not an option for her. She knew that her healing factor – one of her earliest attained powers – would keep her from inflicting fatal harm on her body. And part of her was still clinging to the hope that there was some good in life; that someone would show her that there was love in the world. Even for her.
No one could ever love you. You're a monster.
"No," Scarlet whispered, closing her eyes. "I'm not a monster."
You're a monster. A monster…
"No!"
Professor Xavier's sign flew from its spot on the desk and collided with the window, nearly shattering the glass on its way. Scarlet cursed under her breath and rose to her feet, moving over to stand next to the window. Closing her eyes once more and pressing her hand against the window pane, the girl focused on the glass and envisioned it becoming whole again. She could feel the cracks mending like they had never been there before.
"Dammit," she muttered, pulling her hand away and looking at the blood that coated her hand. "Well, at least the window's fixed." She shook her hand and sighed. "Hello Chuck."
"Maria," Professor Xavier said, driving his wheelchair into the room and closing the door. "I see that the lessons that Logan has been having with you are helping."
"Helping?" Scarlet laughed and crossed her arms. "If they were really helping, would I be in this office with you? I mean, you don't just have me in here for weekly checkups." Her scarlet colored eyes turned onto him. "Scooter and Red sent me here because I screwed up and nearly blew someone's face up in class. Not to mention the whole Carrie-thing with things moving crazy. How's that helping?"
The older man rested his elbows on his desk. "You are having fewer accidents, Maria. In the two months that you have been here, I have seen and heard of your progress. You are doing fine."
He's lying.
Scarlet picked up Professor Xavier's sign and placed it on his desk once more. "I don't feel like I'm doing fine. I feel like people are still in danger around me. I know that someday soon, I'm going to lose my control and someone – or multiple people – is going to get caught in the fire." She poked the side of her head. "As long as she's in here, there's no telling when the big catastrophe is going to happen."
"Maria, you know that your inner darkness is just an extension of your own mind," Professor Xavier said. "But you're giving her too much control over your life. That's what is making you so miserable."
Lying bastard.
"No, Chuck. I'm miserable because life has put everything bad that it could on my shoulders." Scarlet plopped down on the chair across from Professor Xavier and threw her legs carelessly over the arm. "And because everyone thinks that I am some kind of monster because of my breeding and the problems with my power control." She looked at the blood caked on her hand. "Maybe I shouldn't bother anymore."
Give into the darkness. It will be so much easier for you.
"Maria, I would like to help you confront your darker self," Professor X said, watching her.
"I don't want to talk to her."
"If you want to have a better life where you're no longer miserable, you need to confront her. And I will be there the entire time, watching and offering advice when you need me."
Scarlet shook her head and looked at the wall. "I don't think that it will work, Chuck." She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. "But you obviously think that it will work."
Professor Xavier smiled at her, but said nothing.
Heaving a bit sigh, Scarlet straightened herself in the chair. "I guess I'll have to humor you, Old Man. Maybe something will happen inside my head." She shrugged and placed her hands on her knees. "It could be good. Or it could be really, really bad."
"I believe that something good will come from this, Maria. All you have to do is try it out."
"Uh-huh…Well, let's get this started then."
Professor Xavier had her close her eyes and take three slow deep breaths. His mental voice spoke to her, guiding her into a room that her mind had created with his help. Scarlet looked around in the darkness, seeing nothing. Her senses told her that her darker self was approaching and Scarlet braced herself for the coming of the Darkness within.
Scarlet, don't you know that you're too weak to fight me? Scarlet's darker twin came into view, stepping into the glow of a newly created spotlight.
Scarlet looked at her doppelganger, but hardly saw herself in the dark creature. The copy's face was paler than Scarlet's had ever been and her eyes were a soulless black. She had dark lips and her hair was darker than night, lacking the red that Scarlet had in her actual hair.
"I'm not weak," Scarlet said to the copy, feeling Professor Xavier's presence backing her up though the old man never appeared near her. "I've been learning how to control my powers."
You'll never be able to control your powers. You never have been able to and even now, I can feel you failing to keep your power in check. How many children will you hurt today, Scarlet?
Scarlet flinched and drew back, earning a dark chuckle from the Darkness. "I haven't hurt anyone today."
Yet.
"I'm not going to hurt anyone today."
The Darkness smiled, revealing sharp teeth. It's unavoidable, little girl. You were created to be the ultimate weapon. One that would hurt anything that stood in its way. So yes; you will be hurting someone today and tomorrow…
Scarlet looked up at the empty void around her. "Chuck this isn't working."
And you're surprised? The old man knows nothing. Nothing that can protect the little kiddies from the Big Bad Copy Mutant. He's just as weak as you are.
"Maria, don't listen to the Darkness. Stand your ground," Professor Xavier's voice floated around her. "You are stronger than the Darkness and she knows it."
The Darkness laughed. You aren't stronger than me.
Wrapping an arm around herself, Scarlet glared at the Darkness that stood before her. "I could be." She straightened her spine. "I will be."
Keep dreaming. Like you dream about that man you've been training with. You know that someday, he's going to push you too far and you will manage to kill him off, so that you'll be completely alone again.
"I'm not going to kill anyone," Scarlet told the Darkness. "The only thing that I'm ever going to kill is you. You can't control or terrorize me again after today." She looked up for a moment. "Right Chuck?"
That weak old man can't help you. No one can help you. You're a monster. A ticking time bomb that can't be saved. No one is safe around you and you know that. The world knows that. It's just a matter of time before they come for you.
"I'm not a monster. I'm not." Scarlet stuck her chin out defiantly. "And I won't be killing anyone…Just you. Because you're not really real. You're an idea; a figment of my messed up imagination. I can get rid of you at any moment."
Before Scarlet could get another word out, the Darkness was standing behind her with her arm wrapped around Scarlet's throat. You can't get rid of me, Scarlet. I'm a greater portion of you than you think. Without me, you're nothing.
"Keep it up, Maria…"
Scarlet closed her eyes for a moment. "I don't need you. I've never needed you. All you were was an excuse for all the bad things that I did. I don't need to have you around anymore. I have a conscience of my own now…So you're useless. A waste of mental space."
The Darkness tightened her grip on Scarlet's neck and hissed in her ear. You keep saying that, but you know that you're lying to yourself. I'm not an excuse for your accidents. I'm simply the one part of you that can take the blame and shove it away in a nice little box in the corner of your mind. She laughed. Would you like me to open up that box and show you the faces of everyone that you've ever hurt?
"No…please…"
We could start with your mother. How old were you when you watched your mother die? Two? Three?
Unwanted tears welled up in Scarlet's eyes. "Stop…"
"Maria…"
And remember that little boy at the sandbox? The one that you broke seven bones of?
"Please…stop…"
"Maria, focus."
And what about those girls at the mall?
"STOP!" Scarlet screamed into the void, pushing the Darkness away from her. "Just stop!"
Scarlet's body trembled as she turned to look at the Darkness. She ground her teeth together and saw red. The Darkness looked confused and a little bit worried as she took a step back away from Scarlet. Scarlet no longer paid attention to the voice of Professor Xavier as she made her way towards the retreating Darkness.
"You are not going to make me look back on the misdeeds that I have done," Scarlet hissed at the Darkness. "I know what I've done and I'm atoning for them every day. I'm learning how to control my powers and doing my best to keep the people around me safe. And I can't do that with you lurking around in my head."
Scarlet…
"You aren't welcome in my head anymore," Scarlet continued. "You can't tell me that I'm a monster anymore or make me have accidents anymore. I don't need your negativity and I don't need you living on your own. You are a part of me, but it's time for you to join the other types in me." She continued to advance on the Darkness. "You can't have your own, separate self anymore, Darkness. I won't allow it."
Scarlet held her arms out and noticed a bright red glow coming from her skin. Fear filled the eyes of Darkness as Scarlet crossed the space between them. A scream bubbled from the mouth of Darkness as Scarlet embraced her. But Scarlet didn't stop embracing the Darkness until she had merged into the mutant's body.
Tears rolled down Scarlet's face as she stood in the spotlight in the void. Her body still trembled to the point that she fell onto her knees. "Chuck?"
"It's done, Maria," Professor Xavier said in her head. "You've won."
But did I really?
"Come back to the real world and open your eyes when you hear me snap my fingers…"
Scarlet opened her eyes as she heard the snap, but she found that it was a chore to do so. Professor Xavier smiled at her from across his desk and looked like he was truly proud of her. She sagged back in the seat that she'd been sitting in, noticing that her body was still trembling violently.
"How do you feel, Maria?" Professor Xavier asked, leaning his elbows on his desk.
"Empty and exhausted," Scarlet told him. "I don't want to do that again. Damn." She touched her face with the tips of her fingers. "Why the hell am I crying?"
"You had a very taxing and emotional experience, Maria. It wouldn't be normal if you didn't cry over something like this." Professor Xavier watched her for a moment. "I believe that you could use some rest, Maria. You have my permission to skip your remaining classes for the day and –"
He hadn't finished speaking before Scarlet's eyelids grew too heavy for her to keep open. The copy mutant's body gave into the exhaustion and forced her into sleep. Tears still trickled down her face from beneath her eyelids, but a certain peacefulness smoothed out her face. She knew nothing more of what Professor Xavier said, but could vaguely remember the feeling of strong arms lifting her and taking her somewhere cool and peaceful.
OOOOOOOOO
A/N: This isn't the best chapter that I've made, but it came to me and I had to get it out. Please be aware that I know that this chapter didn't really accomplish much in bonding the two main characters together, but I have a reason for this madness. (I think.) Please leave a little review or two in the box and I'll try to get back to you. Thanks you all. -Scarlet