Once again, apologies for the lack of updates. I've been going through a lot of life issues as of late, and haven't really been in the mood for anything artistic. But I've recently quit a job where I was treated very badly, and am feeling very optimistic. Meaning…inspiration! So hopefully I'll get some stuff done.
Thanks for the reviews, they make me smile :3
Another day began with Iris waking in the afternoon and stretching lazily before remembering where she was. This particular morning, Iris nearly leapt out of the bed before realizing that Lizard wasn't even there. This fact surprised her further, since the mutant rarely got up early, let alone left without waking her up in the process. Iris found herself sighing in relief, since she had no idea how she would have handled Lizard at that particular moment.
Just the thought of what had happened last night send shudders through Iris' body, and she tried hard to put it out of her mind as she headed to the kitchen. She also hoped Ruby had not heard the ruckus that had occurred, which would probably raise some awkward questions.
Fortunately, no one was in the kitchen or dining area. Everyone seemed to be out.
Iris sighed and grabbed the milk she had picked up the day before. She poured it over a bowl of Nesquick cereal, which was a favourite of hers. Then the front door banging open wildly nearly made Iris fling the milk across the room.
Composing herself, Iris shoved the Milk back in the fridge as Lizard practically leapt into the room, looking excited. He was breathing heavily and attempting to sift through the mess of object strewn about the house, shoving a few weapons into his belt in the process. Finally he picked up what he had been searching for: the dusty military walkie-talkies that the mutants used to communicate with each other.
"Family's arrived," Lizard muttered in her direction as he headed for the door again.
Iris stared after him. "What?"
"A family's here! Stopped 'em with my spike strip," Lizard said, fondly petting the strip that was draped over his shoulders. "Goggle's watchin' 'em. Gonna get everything ready."
Iris turned back to her cereal, trying to not think about the crimes her family was about to commit. Unfortunately, Lizard kept blathering on, the anticipation of the kill making him excitable and prone to rambling. He was completely unaware of Iris' discomfort.
"Took a look at 'em after they crashed. Got a good-lookin' bitch with 'em," Lizard continued, leaning against the door. "You should come out with us, have a bit of fun."
Gripping the spoon angrily, Iris turned to Lizard with a livid look on her face. "No, I will not 'have a bit of fun' with you." She exhaled slowly, trying to control her rage. "Just…leave me alone."
Lizard finally realized that he had been annoying Iris. He stood staring at her blankly for a moment, before pushing the door open. "Uhhh, okay," he said before disappearing outside.
Moodily spooning cereal into her mouth, Iris grabbed a nearby magazine and tried to read it, but her efforts were futile. She eventually tossed the magazine aside angrily, shoved her half-finished breakfast away, and leaned her head onto the table. Her brain felt like a swirling mess; all the conflicting emotions making Iris feel completely confused as to where she was, what she was doing. Heaving a sigh, she righted herself and decided that it was time to speak with Papa Jupiter. The leader of the mutants, Jupiter had to be wise, cunning, and strong. He had also taken on the roll of a sort of guidance counselor, calmly listening to his clan's worries and issues. Most of the mutants never really came to speak to him, seeing as they lived pleasantly enough being cannibals, but Iris had found a lot of consolation in the fact that that their leader was there to help.
After putting on some presentable clothes and grabbing a bottle of water to sip at, Iris left her house, the screeching and banging of the rusted front door calling loudly after her. Papa Jupiter could usually be found at the very last house in their village, which was four houses down from Iris'. Big Mama, who also stayed in that home, was also nice to talk to, but Iris found her a bit more deluded towards the dark facts of their society. On a good day Iris enjoyed chatting with Big Mama, who was loving and protective of them all, but Iris could never feel comfortable bringing up her depression around her.
As Iris reached Jupiter's house, she began to wonder why she hadn't come upon any of the other mutants during her stroll. She then remembered the human family, and that almost every mutant would probably have cleared out to get in on some of the action, including Jupiter. Swearing to herself, Iris climbed the rickety porch steps to the door, knocked for courtesy's sake, then entered.
The house was silent, aside from the sound of an old television playing in the next room and a rocking chair creaking. Iris cast a brief glance into the kitchen before heading into the living room on her left. Upon entering it, she saw Big Mama seated in her customary chair, knitting, while watching some soap opera.
"Oh, hello, Iris!" Big Mama greeted warmly. "I thought you might have been Pluto."
"Hello. I don't suppose Jupiter's in?" Iris asked skeptically.
Big Mama's grin widened. "In fact, he is! Been sleeping all day. 'Course he was out all night checking the perimeter 'n whatnot. When Goggle came to get him up to see the new arrivals, he nearly threw him out of the house!"
The two chuckled at the image, then Big Mama rose to her feet with a grunt. She said, "I'll go get him for ya," before disappearing around the corner. Iris could hear the heavy woman's footfalls on the stairs leading to the upper level of the house, where the bedrooms were.
Iris didn't have to wait long for Big Mama to return, followed by a disheveled-looking Papa Jupiter. He was a tall and lanky man, with shoulder-length black hair and a grizzled complexion.
"Good afternoon, Iris," he said, his voice rough and deep. "Do you wanna head into the dining room?"
"Yes, please."
Being used to their little talks, Papa Jupiter was accustomed to Iris' need for privacy. He led her back past the entranceway and into the dining room/kitchen, which, unlike Iris' house, was not being used as a butchery. They sat across from each other at the small, beat-up table, and a silence enveloped them. Staring at the scratched wood, Iris couldn't muster the courage to begin talking.
"Why are you here?" Jupiter finally said.
Iris heaved a long sigh. "I don't know what I'm doing."
There was a pause, where Jupiter quirked a brow at her. "What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Iris said evasively, looking anywhere but at him. "I am constantly guilty. Isn't what we're doing wrong? Killing innocent families, I mean."
Jupiter breathed deeply, having heard this from Iris many times before. Her issue with their source of food was a constant problem, one Jupiter had no idea how to solve.
"We gotta eat somehow," he replied with a shrug. "Just…try not to think about it."
Iris nodded, feeling even worse. Of course Papa Jupiter was just trying to provide for them, just like Jeff was just trying to help. How else would they survive? It's not like the outside world cared about them at all, or even knew they existed. She shouldn't feel bad, but she did, and couldn't stop it for the life of her.
"Still having 'em bad dreams?" Jupiter said, snapping Iris out of her thoughts.
"Er, yes…unfortunately." Crossing her arms around her body, Iris gave in to her urge and brought up the sensitive subject. "My dad loved me, right?"
Jupiter smiled reassuringly across the table at her. "Yes, Iris."
"But…uh," she bit her lip, hesitant to speak, "what about my mother?"
"What about her?"
"Er…who was she?"
Instantly Jupiter's face darkened, the smile faded. "Who knows? We've told you before, haven't we?" he muttered. "A human girl, no doubt."
"Meaning she was raped."
"Meaning nothing!" Jupiter snapped, expression fierce.
Iris withdrew as far back as she could into the chair, suddenly wanting to leave. The subject of how some of the children had come to be in the mutant society was somewhat of a taboo topic of discussion, since Jupiter maintained that they were above rape. That it was bad enough that they depended on the families to sustain their meals, and that they were better than the other mutants, ran by Papa Hades, who visited every so often. But everyone knew, though no one ever talked of it. Everyone knew that it had happened before, and would probably happen again.
"It scares me," Iris whispered, staring to the side at the stained linoleum floor. "Living with Lizard, sometimes he gets aggressive. I know he doesn't really mean to be, but sometimes it gets out of hand, and I don't want to hurt him…"
Emotions getting the best of her, Iris felt a few tears drip down her cheeks. She cursed herself repeatedly while wiping them up, hoping Jupiter hadn't noticed.
To her misfortune, Jupiter had noticed, and softened upon seeing Iris cry. He considered her an adopted child, and reached over to brush away a runaway tear.
"Aw, c'mon now, don't be sad. You won't hurt him," Jupiter said.
"I killed my mom, I could kill him, too!" Iris burst, and felt the sobs hit her, sobs that she couldn't quell. Curling up in the chair with her legs to her chest, Iris let them come, let the surges of her sorrow take over. She cried so often those days that it didn't seem to matter all that much anymore. It passed, just like all the other fits, and soon Iris found herself sputtering like an idiot, her face red from effort.
"I'm…sorry," she mumbled.
"It's okay, Iris, I understand," Jupiter reassured her. "You've felt this way since you were a little child, y'know. Terrified of it. I think that might be the problem. Maybe just…practice with it?"
"Maybe," Iris said, but the idea of it made her feel sick. She had no idea how to control the power inside, and every time she let it loose, she ended up destroying something. Iris refrained from mentioning the other night, when she had used it, and tried not to think of how it felt. So freeing and wild, with that tingle of fear always there. It was exhilarating, like ecstasy…and terrifyingly uncontainable.
Jupiter stood and walked over to Iris, then patted her lightly on the shoulder. "Sorry I snapped at you. I just want you to be happy, alright? And if you want," he added with a menacing look, "I'll talk some sense into that son of mine."
Iris looked up, laughing sincerely. "It's fine, I can deal with him."
"Y'know he does really care about you."
"I know," Iris sighed, then swiftly got to her feet. "Thank you, Papa."
Jupiter had been about to respond when a loud crackling came from the belt of his pants. Reaching under his long shirt, Jupiter retrieved a walkie-talkie, which had come to life. Someone was talking on the other end, and they both recognized Goggle's voice.
"Father…gone to gas station…father gone…"
Pushing the respond button, Jupiter said, "Got it," into the speaker, and the walkie-talkie became silent. He stared briefly at the contraption before shoving it back onto his belt, then returned his attention to Iris.
"Looks like I gotta go," Jupiter said. "But you take care of yourself. You need anything, just ask, got that?"
"Got it," Iris said with a nod. "I'll be okay."
"Good."
Iris watched their leader leave, off to hunt down the father of the family. What his plans were was beyond Iris, but the mutants always had one. Gone were the days when they would all run towards their prey willy-nilly, since it often backfired on them. Now they worked like an organized pack, picking their prey off strategically to make sure that there were as few mutant causalities as possible.
After a few moments Iris realized she was standing alone in someone else's house, and moved towards the exit. On her way she waved good-bye to Big Mama. On her way home Iris contemplated her conversation with Papa Jupiter, mulling over what had been said. Part of her brain told her that she felt better, but there was still a gnawing loneliness that would not go away.
And, of course, that part telling her that she was a product of rape.