The McDonalds right down the road from my apartment was a nice place, relatively clean, some of it's food was descent, and it was the last day you could get a shamrock shake, so naturally, that was where me and Laura went.
"This is… weird for me." I admitted.
She nodded, "I do not know you that well either. The first time I met you, I only associated with you for an hour or so. Yet in that time, I had already formed a very strict opinion of you. Over the last few years, you've proved it to be completely false."
"What did you think of me?" I asked.
"I thought you were just like your father." She admitted. "You always had this look on your face, that made it seem like you were always thinking about everyone in a way that resembled…"
"Using them as pawns." I finished. "I was… at first. It's what I've been born to do you know. Manipulate people. True, I was also born to kill people, but you have no idea how much I wish killing was all I did."
She tilted her head to the side. "Explain."
"Killing is a natural part of life. No matter how humans or mutants claim to be superior to animals, it's basically the same thing as a wolf pack. Who ever has more power is the alpha." I sighed, "But manipulation, in my opinion, is worse than killing. When you kill someone, you recognize them as worthy of the time it takes to kill them. Manipulation, you're doing worse. You're treating them as a tool, a weapon. Like me and you were."
She nodded slowly, so I continued. "You can kill someone without truly betraying them, but manipulation, it's the worst thing you can do to a person. I know, I've done it time and time again. I can think about all the people I've killed and not feel much guilt, but to think of the people I treated as pawns, makes me want to cry."
She nodded again, "You're falling."
"Head first." I added.
"What troubles you the most, the fact you've done it, or the fact you liked it?" She asked.
"Neither." I said, sucking a mouthful out of my shamrock shake. "It's the fact that I don't think I can stop."
"You're still manipulating?" She asked, raising an accusing eyebrow.
I frowned, "No, and that's why I don't like you, X. You always assume the worst of me so quickly, like I'm some kind of time bomb that you need to constantly defuse."
"Logan doesn't treat you that way?" She questioned.
"Logan treats me like a person." I said. "He doesn't treat me like I haven't killed people, I hate it when people treat me that way, it's how Batman treats me, how most of the kids treat me. Logan treats me… like it wasn't a bad thing I killed those people, but if I kill anymore who don't deserve it, then it will be a bad thing."
She nodded, "I see. Now, what did you mean when you said you don't think you can stop?"
"I think I'm doing it subconsciously." I confessed. "Everyone on the team except Megan just keeps… gravitating to me. The only reason Megan hasn't is because I stole her man."
She raised an eyebrow, "The boy Jubilee keeps telling me about?"
"… Stupid vampire needs to keep her mouth shut." I mumbled.
"Conner Kent, right? The clone of Superman? Seems like… like a nice boy to me, so you two are… dating, right?" She questioned.
"No." I mumbled.
"He isn't interested in you?" She asked.
"He is, he's very interested, but I just… I'm not sure that I can… risk all that." I explained.
She nodded slowly, "I've recently spoken to Julian."
"You and hellion still got a thing?" I asked.
She looked down at the table, "No."
"… Oh. If it helps, I've been through a pretty nasty break up, and I can officially say, it gets better." I offered.
"I suppose there will be others. In time." She agreed.
"Yeah, there will be." I promised.
She nodded, "Why would you want to talk to me?"
"I just… I know me and you don't exactly… we aren't best friends, I know that much, and I can't really consider you a sister."
She nodded, "I can not think of you that way either."
"But I… I do think of you as… as family, close family." I said, sighing.
"I suppose me being your sister is an impossible thought." She amended. "Most consider me to be Logan's daughter, not his granddaughter."
I paused, before a grin broke out onto my face, "So, you're my aunt, huh?"
Her eyes widened, shocked at being referred to as an aunt.
"So Auntie Laura, did you remember to put on that cream you bought yesterday? you know how those crows feet creep up on you on the weekends."
She glared at me, "Don't make me put you in time out."
I laughed, "Whatever you say Auntie Laura."
"… That's not going to become your permanent nick name for me, is it?" She asked.
"Beats the last one I had for you." I said.
"What was my last one?" She asked.
"… Clone Girl." I mumbled.
"I take it you've given everybody on your new team a nick name?" She asked.
"Kid Flash, I call him speedy just cause it annoys him, I call Artemis Barbie, Megan I usually refer to her as Scared-Martian-Girl-In-A-So-Much-Bigger-World, really long, I know. Robin, I don't say it out loud, but I call him Bat-Boy in my head, mostly because that would have been the more logical name to go with. Conner, well, I haven't called him this out loud yet, but his is Puppy. You should see him when he's relaxed, he acts just like one." I said, nodding seriously. Nicknames, for me, were a necessity.
"And Aqualad?" She asked.
"Guppy."
"Of course." She said, rolling her eyes.
"So, guess I should get home and set up Lovette's room for you-"
"I'm leaving tonight." She said, standing up.
"I though Logan told you to stay and make sure I was doing alright?" I asked, not really sure what she was doing, Logan got pretty mad when people didn't do what he told them to do…
"You're doing more than fine." She explained, "And I am not going to keep treating you, if I may quote you for a moment, like some kind of time bomb that I need to constantly defuse."
I smirked, "Gee, if you weren't up for babysitting this little brat, why didn't you just call in your big brother to bail you out?"
She paused for a moment, and that's when I realized what I had said. Her 'big brother' was my dad…
"Uh… I don't know where that came from." I mumbled, losing the cocky look.
She hesitated, looking at me for a few minutes, before sitting back down. "When's the last time you saw your father?"
"When he kidnapped Lovette about a week ago. Last thing he said was that he'd leave her alone from now on, but next time he sees me, he's not gonna hold back." I mumbled.
She nodded, "And the time before that?"
"… Uh, I think the time before that was… um… the Injustice League?" I mumbled.
"You are lying." She accused.
I glared at her, "It's none of your business."
"Do not push away your family Mio." She ordered. "Tell me, what are you hiding?"
"… I saw him once after the Injustice League, but before Lovette's kidnapping." I admitted.
"Where?" She asked.
"A Starbucks, a few miles inland of the X-mansion." I said, not really worried about he revelation. If she had a problem with me talking with my father, no skin off of my nose, it's not like I went looking for him.
"And what did he say?" She asked.
"Not much." I admitted.
"What. Did. He. Say?" She ground out.
I frowned, "Not. Much."
She glared at me, "If Logan were asking you the same question, would you respond differently?"
"No." I snapped. "I'm telling the truth. He didn't say anything important, just taunted me a little. That's all that went on, he didn't try and get to do anything, and if he had I would have told Logan."
"No you wouldn't have." She argued. "You would have kept it secret, just as you tried to keep your ability to control pheromones a secret from him."
I snapped. "Because I wasn't ready to tell him! I know you don't understand emotion Laura, but try to understand that I do! And sometimes, emotions make you nervous about something that you might no think was a big deal! I had my reasons to keep my abilities to myself, so shove off!"
"Your reasons were that you were manipulating him, weren't you?" She accused. "You knew with him knowing of your pheromones, it would be harder, so you sought to keep it a secret!"
"No!" I shouted, good thing for me there were only three people left in McDonalds at this hour, manager and two employees. "I kept it a secret because I didn't want to admit there was one more way that I WAS JUST LIKE MY FATHER!"
She paused, and I stood up, tossing my empty shamrock shake into the trashcan next to our table. "Look X, you're 'father' is pretty much the best father anyone would ever want. My father is the worst father ever, worse then even Superman! Never thought I'd say that, but it's true. Admitting that no matter what I do, not matter who I kill, or where I go, there's still a little, well maybe not so little, piece of him that's tattooed forever, RIGHT ON MY FACE!"
"You're being overly dramatic-"
"Put yourself in my shoes." I commanded. "Having your father, the man who's supposed to love you, to cherish you about everything else in the world, show up every few months to beat you until you're literally a bloody pulp. Whether he's gutted you in the forest floor and left you in a pile of your own blood and entrails, or you in the school hallway and left you in a pile of your own blood and entrails right on top of your math homework you didn't do cause you hate Summers' class, with every staring at you because they either felt sorry for you, or were so disgusted with you for being that mans' daughter. His flesh and blood."
She was silent.
"Living in his shadow doesn't sound like fun anymore does it?" I asked.
"No one judges you because of that." She insisted.
"Everywhere I've gone, people have judged me because of that. I grew up in Japan, and everyone looked down on me, not because of my father, but because of my lack of one. I was the only bastard child in the village, and they let me know what they thought about kids like that. The Fantastic Four practically shoved me out the door as soon as the coast was clear cause they didn't want to deal with a 'teenage Daken'. That's the exact term Ben used. Johnny was the only one who didn't agree. That's only because he's got a crush on my dad!" I shivered, "God, that's so creepy."
She paused, then sighed, "I won't tell Logan."
"Yeah you will." I said, walking away from the table.
She called out to me before I got to the door, "You know, for a moment there, the way you were talking about your father, you really did sound like Daken. I swear, for a moment, he was standing there, instead of you."
I glared over my shoulder at her, "You tryin to add insult to injury?"
"No, I'm just saying, perhaps being like Daken is not as much of a curse as you think."
I sneered, "Tell me that when you've tried it."
I walked out, into the pouring rain, pulling the collar of my leather jacket tighter around me, the cold raindrops biting and pricking at my skin. I frowned, glaring down at a puddle gathering on the sidewalk. I leaned over it slightly, guarding it from rain drops long enough to see my reflection.
The minute I saw the reflection of my eyes, I bit down harshly onto my tongue, as if punishing myself for my genetics.
"You're sure Logan?" Asked a female. She sounded British, and I could tell, she didn't take any crap from anybody. She'll be fun to play with.
"Yeah, I can handle the girl." People stood up, and the British woman spoke again.
"Very well Logan, but if she attacks one person, she'll either be kicked out of here, of I'll lock her in a cell in the sub basement, understood?" I could tell already I didn't like this lady. First of, she actually believed Logan might be able to control me, secondly, she actually thought a cell could contain me. Pathetic. Relax Mio, your time will come. Remember, wait, be patient, fool every one, and then kill 'em all.
They all walked out of the room, and most people stared at me, not in a friendly way. I mean in the 'this kid is trouble and I don't wanna put up with her' way. All because of whom my father was. Oh well, I guess the X-men were judgmental idiots too.
They all left, and a woman with red hair with a white streak at the front took Lovette to her room. The only ones left were me, and a man I assumed was Logan. Susan had told me about him, said he was my grandfather, my father's father. He was short, obviously not Japanese, and there was hardly any resemblance between us other than, judging by his scent, powers.
"Hey kid." He said, sitting down next to me.
I grunted, and looked away, to the door that I would love to just walk out of and never look back. These were good people, Lovette would be safe with them. There was no need for me to be here. I want to leave, to run away. That's what I do, I run.
"So, where you from?" Logan asked, trying to pull a civil response out of me.
I grimaced, could he just leave me alone already? Since he was obviously not Japanese, I was confident he couldn't speak it, and I hated speaking in English.
"Nippon. Ima sugu damatte watashi o hottoite." Japan, now shut up and leave me alone.
To my surprise, he actually chuckled, and said, "O kuchi no naka no kodomo o mite, watashi wa kiken no heya ni anata o tsuyoku hiku to, anata no kōbu made no yoi kikku o ataete, jōki de wa nai." Watch your language kid, I'm not above hauling you into the danger room and giving you a good kick up the rear.
My eyes widened a little, but I quickly composed myself, and turned to him, and, deciding to not give him any respect, I said, "Anata no akusento to tango no haichi ga sukoshi ofu ni natte imasu. Go jibun no gengo o hanasu koto o iku baai, migi no sore o hanasu." Your accent and word placement is off a bit. If you're going to speak my language, speak it right.
He gave me a warning look, and something about it made me bite my tongue. I could normally sense how strong some one was just by looking at them, like that Cyclops guy, I was defiantly better than him. The British girl, Frost I think, I would love to kill her, and it would be one of the easiest kills I've ever done. This guy, I knew he could take me down easily. He could take down Daken.
So, valuing my life, I changed the subject. I missed talking in Japanese. It was my native language, and I loved it. "Doko de nihongo o hanasu koto o manabimashita ka" Where did you learn to speak Japanese?
He smiled, seeming to be OK with the conversation. "Watashi wa Nippon ni sū-nen sunde ita, sore wa watashi ga o bāchan ni atta bashodesu." I lived in Japan for a few years; it's where I met your Grandmother.
I paused, staring at the ground, and he continued. "Doko de nihongo o manabimashita ka? Haidora wa, sore o anata ni oshieru ka?" Where did you learn Japanese? Did Hydra teach it to you?
I usually didn't talk about this. I hadn't talked about it with Mrs. Marvel even. But this guy, I liked this guy. It has nothing to do with the fact he's my grandfather, he's just different. He looked at me like I was actually human, and no one else but Lovette and my father did that. "Īe. Hydra wa watashi ga eigo o oshiete. Watashi wa Nippon de sodachi, sonogo, Hydra wa watashi no ie to suru tame ni yattekite... Karera wa ban ni watashi o rōdo sa rete sonogo, watashi no haha o koroshi, watashi o tsuresatta. Watashi wa irai, watashi no ie, watashi no fāmu, matawa Nippon o mite inai." No. Hydra taught me English. I grew up in Japan, and then Hydra came over to my house and... they killed my mother. Then they loaded me into a van, and took me away. I haven't seen my house, my farm, or Japan since.
He paused, taking this in, and then he continued, "Anata wa, Nippon o shite inai misu?" You miss Japan, don't you?
I nodded, crossing my arms, "Sore wa, amerika yori mo haruka nimashida." It's much better than America.
He nodded, and then said, "You have your dad's eyes." I turned away, glaring at the ground. If it had been anyone else, I would have sucker punched them. He then said, "They're your grandmother's eyes."
I paused, "Was she nice? My Grandmother I mean."
He chuckled, "Yeah, she was somethin' else. Quite the spitfire as I recall."
I nodded, "My mother was beautiful."
"So, what was my daughter in law like?" He asked innocently.
I paused, "She was pure Japanese, and she liked almost every one, unless they were mean to me. She was always smiling. Not a fake smile, a real smile, it made every one around her smile too. She never argued with anybody, she was a saint." My grimace turned to a light frown at the memories of her. She would hate to see me like this, only a shell of a human now days. You could just look into my eyes and see that I had left all humanity behind long ago.
"She sounds a lot like Itsu." He smiled, and ruffled my hair. "Come on, I'll show you around."
I frowned at the puddle, kicking it harshly with the toe of my combat boot, and angrily storming away from it, towards my apartment.
Who did that puddle think it was? Showing me that my eyes were just like my fathers.