X

When I woke up, I was sweating. It was strange, considering it was January, and the heater was broken. Philadelphia winters got cold, but on that day, it felt like I swallowed hot coals. I checked my phone. I still had a whole hour to get ready for school. I wanted to sleep, but once I was up, I stayed up. I groaned and headed to bathroom, intent on a shower. The water was ice cold at first, but when it hit my skin it felt hot. We had not had hot water in months. Another weird coincidence, I thought. When I was done, I got dressed and headed downstairs I still had time before school, and as my stomach rumbled, I thought about what we might have for breakfast, which probably was not much. As I headed to the kitchen, I saw my father in his usual spot, passed out on the floor, a half empty bottle still in his hand. I sighed, and stepped over him, not really caring if I kicked him or not. He would not wake up even if I had. After scavenging for some semi-stale bagels, I shoved one in my mouth and stepped outside, forgetting my jacket in the process.

I stepped outside just in time to see the girl across the street do the same. We made eye contact, and I waved at here. She looked briefly confused and waved back. I disregarded the one-way South Philly traffic as I jogged across the street to meet her.

"Hey Jess, what's up?" I tried to act cool. At least I do not tongue tied around her anymore.

"Hey yourself, Joey. Where's your coat? You know there's snow on the ground, right?"

I glanced down at outfit. A simple black t-shirt, jeans and black boots was probably not enough to stave off the bitter cold, but I felt fine.

"I'm good. Guess I just feel that cold."

She did not look convinced.

"Whatever you say, Joey."

We walked around the corner together. Our high school was barely a five-minute walk away. I hated awkward silences.

"Hey, sorry if you heard yelling coming from my house last night."

She took a moment before replying.

"It's cool. I only heard a little bit. You guys should learn to close your windows."

Her statement had the cadence of a joke, so I forced a laugh.

"Yeah, I guess we do. By the way, did you see that video of Spider-man fighting that Rhino guy last night?"

"Yeah, that was crazy. Kinda sucks we don't have any stuff like that around here, it was pretty cool."

"Well, what about the time the X-Men fought those other mutants less than a block from here? It was only like two months ago."

"I mean, I guess that was cool, but you know how my mom and dad feel about mutants."

"Yeah, how could I forget? How is your brother doing by the way?"

Her expression made me feel like I slapped her in the face.

"Sorry, dumb question."

"No, it's ok. I haven't talked to him in few months. He said he was headed to California. He was going to try and go to Genosha, but he couldn't after what happened. When they were talking about it on the news, my dad said it was for the best. That the mutants got what they deserved."

"What do you think?"

Jess hesitated again.

"I mean, I know mutants are dangerous, but they are still people, right? It was literally a genocide, and everyone is fine with it. How can people support the Avengers, but hate the X-Men?"

I did not know how to answer. We stayed in silence until we found ourselves on the school steps, with a few minutes before the bell rings.

"Listen Jess, I'm sorry about your brother. It was fucked up your dad kicked him out like that."

Jess nodded. "Thanks, Joey. It just sucks. I'll see you at lunch."

She hurried into the school, and I chastised myself for being so stupid. She was not ready to talk about her brother. He had only been kicked out a few weeks ago. I still remember hearing her dad yelling about having a filthy mutant in his home. I sighed as the first bell rang. First time in a while I was at school on time, and I was still late.

X

I glanced around the cafeteria, looking for Jess. I spotted her with some of her friends. She saw me and smiled, waving me over to the open seat next to her. I was always cool with her friends, despite never actually hanging out with them. As I sat down, I realized I walked into a rather one-sided discussion on mutant rights.

"They're dangerous, plain and simple. If you need to register guns, you should register as a mutant. Don't give me the bullshit that it's unconstitutional. The constitution only applies to American humans, not mutants."

"It's not like they can't control themselves. Look at the X-Men."

I stopped listening. It is always the same tired arguments. Jess looked uninterested too, and at least a little bit annoyed.

"Hey Jess," I said, "you have a free period after lunch, right? Wanna go to the library and study? Chemistry is kicking my ass."

She agreed and was probably happy to head out of there before that conversation got to personal. I was the only person besides her family that knew her brother was a mutant.

The library was empty when we got there. We set our books down on the closest table. More students started to trickle in after lunch ended. A lot of students had a free period. I tried to pay attention as Jess was explaining basic formulas, but I all I saw was the way her nose would crinkle a bit when she read a question out loud. I noticed the way she laughed at the dumb jokes I made. How she touched my thigh when she was trying to get my attention. She looked up at me, and leaned in a bit, her lips slightly parted. I started to lean down to meet her, then I felt it, a slow rumbling in my stomach. At first, I thought I was hungry. I had not actually eaten since that bagel this morning, but suddenly I felt hot, hotter than I felt this morning. That feeling of burning coals in my stomach was back, and it felt like I was going to throw up. I moved away from her and stood up.

"Joey, are you ok? What's wrong?"

"Yeah, just wait here, ok? I'll be right back."

I got up and rushed to the bathroom while Jess protested. I pushed open the door and stumbled to the sink. I splashed water on my face, and gasped when the water turned to steam in hands. I looked up into the mirror. My face was dark red. I started hyperventilating and screamed when smoke plumed from my mouth. I heard a knock on the door.

"Joey, are you alright? Do you need me get someone?"

"Jess, just wait, ok?"

"Just come out! I'll take you too the nurse or something!"

I pushed open the door and stumbled out, clutching my belly. I tried to run to the exit, but Jess grabbed my shoulder.

"Joey, just wait a second!"

"No, just stay away!"

Exhaling sharply on the last word, I turned to face her as I pushed her hand off me. I did not know what was happening. The entire area in front of me was engulfed in flames. Jess screamed, alerting everyone in the library before the fire alarms did. When I finally closed my mouth, I saw Jess on ground, convulsing in pain as flames burned all around us. Fire covered over half of her body. I just stood there, as the librarians tried to get all the students out. The fire alarm was blaring. I grabbed Jess, had sprinted out of the library, through the hallway, and out the front doors as fast as I could. Almost the entire student body was out there by now, as the teachers tried to keep everyone calm and orderly. The snow on the ground melted as I passed. I finally stopped at the front lawn of the school, and set Jess down. I looked like she had passed out from the pain, and most of her body was charred and burned. Some of the students and faculty had gathered around us. One of the librarians pointed at me.

"It was him! I saw it! He spewed fire from his mouth! He burned that poor girl!"

The other students and faculty started yelling.

"Are the police here yet? Arrest him!"

"He's a mutant!"

"Please, let me explain," I begged, "I don't know what happened. I didn't mean for this!"

Police, firetrucks and ambulances all seemed to arrive at the same time. Paramedics took Jess away while I pleaded with everyone. Two police officers emerged from the crowd.

"Come here, mutant!"

One of them grabbed me, while the other hit me with his baton, causing me to fall to my knees. I looked up at them and screamed in pain, as he kept hitting me. Then I felt it again. The heat in the pit of my stomach. Flames blew from my mouth, burning the cop, and sent him flying into the air. I got up and ran, pushing through the mob of people. I ran off the campus, turning the street corner, and toward my house. I looked behind me, and no one appeared to be giving chase. They were still dealing with the school burning down. I found the entrance to my house, and ran up the concrete steps, barreling through the door.

My father was sitting on the couch and looked up at me as I entered. The TV was on.

"What did you do," he asked.

The TV was showing a helicopter's view of the school. Most of the building was covered in flames. A reporter's voice came over the footage.

"It is unclear how many students and faculty were hurt during the mutant attack, but police say that they are looking for a student named Joseph Graves after he attacked an officer who had attempted to question him."

My father turned the television off. He stood up and grabbed me by the neck.

"What did you do, you little shit?"

I opened my mouth. A steady stream fire pushed him across the room. Tears fell freely from my eyes as I stomped toward him, the flames never waning. When I stopped, my father was nothing but a burned-out husk on the floor. I could not stop crying, my whole body was trembling with anger and fear. Flames burned around me, and I turned and ran outside, as my home burned to the ground. I was panicking. I did not know what to do. As I stood there shaking, panic overtaking me. Armored vehicles pulled up in front of me, men in body armor poured out of the cars, all pointing automatic rifles straight at me. One of them had a megaphone.

"Mutant, we are the Friends of Humanity. Do not attempt to use your unnatural abilities. Give up and turn yourself in, and we will turn you over to the proper authorities."

I had heard of the Friends of Humanity before. They were a private paramilitary group contracted by cities across the United States to supplement the police force. They were meant to hunt down mutants suspected of crimes. A brutal, militant hate group could hunt down mutants that may or may not have done anything wrong, and people cheered as they rolled down the street in tanks.

I put my hands up and closed my eyes. I opened my mouth, and not really knowing what would happen, I let out a long, drawn out breath. Flames danced over the street in front of me, none of the mercenaries even had a chance to open fire before being consumed in the inferno. Their screams echoed down the street. I did not stop until I was out of breath, the fire coming from my mouth sputtering out as I fell to ground gasping for air.

I started crying again. Suddenly the inside of my head starting buzzing. A woman's voice started speaking in my head, as clear as my own.

"Do not be afraid, Joseph. My name is Emma Frost. We can help you."

"Who are you," I yelled out loud, "What's happening to me?"

"Remain calm. More Friends of Humanity are coming to kill you. I am going to render you unconscious, so you do not accidentally hurt anyone else. When you wake up, you will be in safe place."

"What? What do you mean?"

My vision blurred. The last thing I saw before blacking out was a large, black jet hovering above me.