Chapter 8: Shocking

When I get to the dining room I find Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt sitting at the kitchen counter and debating something, I walk over and smile at them as I say, "Hey guys, what's for lunch?"

"Logan's ordering Pizza for the mansion." Kurt tells me. "We were just talking."

"Cool. What are you talking about?" I ask as I take a seat with them.

"Kitty and Rogue are debating which is better. Star Wars or Star Trek." Kurt tells me. "Kitty says Star Trek, but Rogue says Star Wars, I personally have only ever seen one of the Star Wars movies so I'm just watching them debate."

"What do you think, Shock?" Kitty asks me, "Star Wars or Star Trek?"

"I have no idea what either of them are." I tell them. "Though I would enjoy learning about them."

"Now that is just a crime against nature." Rogue says. "We've got to show you both the options so you can determine which is better."

"Movie night!" Kitty says excitedly before looking at me with a large grin. "Let's ask your mom to, like, have one tonight!"

"Sure." I say as ma comes in, "Hey ma?" she looks at me, "Rogue and Kitty want to show me and Kurt some movies. Can we have a movie night tonight?"

She considers for a minute before saying, "I will allow three movies before you have to head to bed. Now, what's for lunch?"

"Logan's ordering pizza." I tell her before looking at Kitty and Rogue, "What three movies are we watching tonight?"

"Well...Star Wars, like, comes in trilogies." Kitty says hesitantly.

"Great." Rogue says with a smile, "We'll watch Star Wars tonight and start on Star Trek next time we have a movie night."

"Sounds good to me." I say before frowning as a thought occurs to me. "I wish only Shadowsong, was here. He would have loved this place."

I say it quietly but it earns me a curious look from Kurt who asks, "Who is Shadowsong?"

I sigh as Raine, Stone Breaker, and Harsh come in and takes the seats around me. A few seconds pass before I say, "You know how we consider Aeolus and Nightshade twins because they were brought on the same day? Same with Artemis and Apollo?" they nod so I take another breath before saying, "Shadowsong was my twin in the same way. His base mutation was sirens voice. The lab gave him wings. He was...he was the only person I've ever been completely in sync with. We thought the same, moved the same, and even spoke the same. We could only be separated during injection week and that wasn't by choice."

"What happened to him?" Rogue asks in a concerned voice and I tense before leaning into Stone Breaker, who wraps an arm around my shoulders.

I hold out my hand and summon some hellfire, I twirl it around my fingers before making it vanish as I say, "Injection week. The one week of the year they would try to give us new abilities. He was taken to the injection room and given the same serum that gave me hellfire. His body rejected the serum instantly and he died..."

"Oh no." ma says quietly and I take a small breath.

"The worst feeling I have ever experienced is the feeling of the twin connection me and Shadowsong created between us closing with the last thing that came from it being a heat flash." I say as I bow my head. "After he died I... changed. I became more closed off, didn't speak to the others for months, stopped talking to almost everyone from the lab completely."

A few moments of silence pass before I get pulled into a hug by Raine, who gently says, "I'm sorry you had to go through all that, Teine Laoch."

I hug her back briefly before pulling away and smiling as I say, "Thanks. I think I need to go for a quick flight." I get up. "Just have someone call me when pizza gets here." I walk out and head out the back door, taking off immediately and looking for a peaceful area to hang out for a while. I end up finding a small clearing which I settle down in and lean against a tree, sighing sadly and leaning back before a ringing comes to my ears. I frown slightly and pull out the phone that the lab gave me, seeing that its what's ringing. I answer it and say, "Hello?"

"Leah? Is it really you?" a familiar voice that it takes a few moments for me to place asks. I get the feeling that I shouldn't trust her though so I frown.

"Are you the investor the lab told me about?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yes." she says after a minute of silence. "I thought the lab gave you memories."

"Yeah. They did. But the memories were muted and I have no clue who I am speaking too." I tell her before getting the call for lunch. "Sorry, I have to go. It's lunchtime."

I hang up before she can protest and stand before flying back to the mansion. When I get to the dining room I see that Raine saved me an entire pizza. I sit next to her and she sets it in front of me. I smile at her before taking a slice and biting into it. After lunch ends I go to the rec room and grab my paint set. I hear someone enter but ignore them as I paint a boy with short, black hair and purple eyes, a set of wings on his back and a lazy smile on his face, his clothes consisting of a ragged shirt and pants.

The person behind me walks over and I hear Rogue ask, "Is that Shadowsong?"

I nod sadly as I finish with it before putting it up to dry. I then grab another canvas and stare at it for a second before beginning to paint again. I paint myself and Shadowsong as teenagers, standing back to back with our main weapons in one hand and a wand in the other, glaring and seeming to fight with something. When that one gets done I frown at it before setting it to the side and grabbing one more canvas.

I frown a bit and unfocus my mind, feeling my hand move on it's own, painting a picture I don't pay attention too. When I get done with it I set my supplies back in their place and walk over to the canvas, tensing when I see an nine year old Shadowsong, smiling back at me from inside a cage. I tense before turning and storming out of the room, going to Artemis. She looks at me and says, "Yes, the painting is of the future. I told you you had that ability. It just isn't a mutation."

"Do you realize what I painted?" I ask shakily.

"No, I just saw you asking if I was telling the truth of you having that ability." she tells me.

I nod before grabbing the phone the lab gave me and pulling up the only other number saved on it, it rings for a moment before a voice on the other end says, "Hello, Esme Dunn speaking."

"Ask your guards what the hell happened to my twin or I am going to burn every location of your labs to the ground and dance on the ashes." I say shakily.

"Of course. I'll gather them now and ask, I can call you back when I get the information." she says.

"Do so." I snarl before hanging up the phone and storming out of the house, jumping into the air and beginning to fly around.

After a while Aeolus flies up as well and says, "What's up Shock? You're angry flying again. Nightshade wants to know if you have a caffeine low. Do you need a soda?"

"No, it's not that." I say before the phone rings and I fly to the ground, landing and pulling it out. I answer the phone and demand, "What happened to him?"

"According to the guards, he disappeared in the flames and was found outside. After that he was found and Toby had him sent to a secret lab. We're working on getting a location from the guards that transported him. So far they've been refusing to talk." Esme tells me and I growl.

"Get me his location in the next two months or I will come and make them talk." I order her before hanging up the phone. I then go back to the rec room and find ma looking at my latest painting with a concerned frown, all my siblings are shocked around her. I grab my paint set again and grab another canvas before setting up in the corner and painting Sigyn, my past life's best friend. I work on it until dinner time, where I end up eating quite a bit more than usual. After dinner my siblings and I settle in the living room with Rogue, Kitty, and Kurt to watch the first Star Wars movie, episode four. I see some droids come on screen and say, "Oh, I can make those!" then I see the laser guns, "Oh I can make those too!"

Throughout all three movies I make a list of things I can make, writing it all down before going to sleep for the night. The next morning I show the list to ma and she tells me that I cannot create the weapons until I am at least eleven. Which means I have the next three years of building droids and vehicles to look forward to.