Chapter 7: Bitter Denial
By: Galadeidre
EverAfter-01 – Hey thanks for adding me to ure favs! I really appreaciate that. And I'm glad you like this story. I loved your exclamations, too.
Horsecrazy – Well, here's the next chapter for ya! Sorry, I haven't quite said exactly what Len has. I've shown a little bit of her powers, but not the full extent yet. That'll come soon. Thanks for reading!
Maid of the Mer – Have you ever tried those cheese strudel muffins or something like that? Those are good, too!
mm4ever2gether – Thanks for reading! Sorry, I thought you'd probably find out how Conner reacts to Len being a mutant in this chapter, but I realized that that'll be in the next. At least, I'm almost positive that that'll be in the next chapter! Thanks tho!
A/N: Thank you all for reading and reviewing! I really appreaciate it! (Did I say something like this in the last chapter?) ; p
It felt as if a huge boulder had just slammed into her body. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. She…Lenette Terace…was not a human anymore. She wasn't a regular red-headed, seventeen-year-old senior any longer. She was a mutant. A despised freak of nature. Just like the Jews during the Holocaust and the African-Americans during the Civil War.
She had stopped crying and was only staring straight at Marron, her eyes wide with firstly shock, which gradually changed to fear. Where was she to go now? She couldn't go home. Her parents wouldn't want her. They'd kick her out of the house the minute they found out. She couldn't even go to her friends, for they were all practically anti-mutant supporters. And she didn't want to stay with any of these mutants. Being a mutant herself was bad enough. As she mulled this all over, she realized that the only option was to get out of the city and run.
But to where?
Her mind was still thinking in a human mode. She shook her head. "I…I can't be…it just can't be…" she whispered. Her head dropped down to stare at her lap.
Marron sighed. "We know what you're going through, Len. If you want, I'm sure one of us would be glad to take you in temporarily…"
"No." Len shook her head furiously. "I'm not a mutant. I'm not!"
"Len," Von started calmly. "Denial won't get you anywhere…"
"Shut up! Just shut up! I've had enough of you! All of you!" Len sprang to her feet, glaring at all of them in turn. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she refused to cry, for the anger was building up inside her. She couldn't believe her life would be changing…correction…to Len, it wasn't going to change. She wasn't a mutant. She believed that.
"Len, come on," Marron said quietly, She slowly stood up, her hands outstretched just slightly in front of her, her eyes never leaving Len. "You're confused. It's okay. We can help you. We'll find someone who'll be able to help you harness you power so it won't go haywire."
"I told you already! I'm not a mutant! I never will be!" Hawk started forward to her, but Len turned on him, her arm angrily outstretched before her. "Don't come near me!" she hissed. Hawk stopped immediately in his tracks.
"Okay, Len," Marron whispered, sounding a little worried. The other mutants were starting to whisper to each other and look at Len in slight fear. Marron dug in her pocket and took out her cell. "I'm gonna call Conner. Do you want me to call Conner?"
Conner… Len's eyes widened in sudden realization. Of course…it was Conner. It's always been Conner's fault. She began to mutter to herself. "Why didn't I ever think of that before…"
Marron frowned, straining to hear Len's voice. "Len? So you do want me to call him? I can. They're performing already, but I can contact him if need be. Is that what you want? Len?" But Len wasn't listening.
Her anger was slowly starting to boil. She was looking down at the ground and turning this way and that, not glancing at anything in particular. She was sorting all of the past events in her mind. "Of course it was him…I should've known…him and his stupid powers…I can't actually believe I fell for it…it's all his fault…it's always been his fault…why didn't I think of that before…God, Len, you must've been blind…damn it…he was just using me as a guinea pig…the damn loser…I can't believe he did this to me…oh, when I get my hands on him…to hell with him…I'll kill him…"
The mutants nearby, including Marron, had heard every single word, even though she was muttering to herself. Marron glanced at Hawk. He, too, had heard what she had said. She glanced over at Von. Von was just as stunned as the rest of the mutants. It didn't take them long to figure out who she was talking about – and they were shocked. They had never witnessed anyone get this furious for turning into a mutant.
Von gave a nod to Marron, and Marron stepped closer to Len. It took a bit of an effort to keep her voice in check. "Len, listen to me. Conner doesn't have any side effects with his powers. He's always tried healing people with his visions. He's done it plenty of times with several of us here. Listen, Len. Conner didn't do this to you. It's only a natural occurrence in some people." She gently took Len's arm in her hand…
…which was a mistake.
Len gasped as visions started to appear, once again, in her mind. But these weren't the visions of the red-headed mutant that she normally dreamt about…
Someone was running down the steps that led to the Shelter. Her blurred face was pale, and her hand clutched her side. She tripped and fell down the last flight of steps, breaking her ankle as she did so and crying out in pain. There were voices above her at the entrance of the cave, which she heard, but did not reply to. She limped towards the entrance door of the Shelter and furiously began to pound on it. Deep brown eyes appeared at the window slot. They widened in shock and immediately began to unlock the door. The door swung open and the injured female ran in.
"Lock the door! Quick!"
"What's going on?" To Len, all these figures seemed slightly blurred. She couldn't make out their faces. She could tell, though, that it was the guy that had opened the door that was asking the question.
"We've got to get out of here!" the female asked. "Now! You all know the drill! Let's move, move, move! Go, now! Wake everyone up, and run! They've found us! They found us!" she fell to the floor, and the door opener knelt beside her.
The rest of the mutants there were well practiced. They immediately began waking up people, calling out names, and forming groups. The teleporters and mutants that could walk through solid objects began to grab groups of people and take them out of the Shelter. Several other groups were running down hallways, which most likely led to the backdoors. Several of the teleporters, healers, and stronger mutants were carrying the patients they had out of the hospital section of the Shelter and teleporting out. The place soon only had a few of the stronger mutants left.
A mutant stepped forward to the fallen girl. Though he was blurred, Len could just make out the sparks and electricity bolts that were flying all around this mutant. There were a few other mutants behind him.
Bolt looked down. "Marron, how many are there?"
The injured girl, Marron, whispered, "I'm not sure…"
"I can't believe they found out," Hawk's voice suddenly spoke up. "How could they have found out?"
"Maybe someone told on us," another mutant spoke.
"Like who? Who would want to?"
"Has anyone seen Conner?" Marron whispered.
The brown-eyed guy that was supporting Marron shook his head. "No." Len realized that this was Von's voice. "I've had Sprint, Query, Bloodhound, and Sharp Eyes out for weeks. No luck."
There were several loud pounds on the metal door. The mutants looked up and listened to the gruff voices on the other side.
Von turned to a mutant that had just teleported into view. "Are the others safe and out of harm's way?"
The mutant's breath was ragged. Her voice shook as she spoke. "It's bad, Von. It's really bad."
"What happened?"
"There's a huge police squad outside. A good hundred or so officers. They've even got the SWAT team out there."
Von swore under his breath and tightened his grip on Marron's shoulders. Several of the other mutants were muttering under their breaths.
"And the others?"
"Most were caught. They took all of the injured, tranquilized several of the others, stunned the stronger ones."
"Any deaths?"
"No, thank goodness. A few of us were able to escape, but that's not many compared to the rest that were captured."
"They're probably gonna use them as lab rats or something. We're gonna have to escape for now, regroup with as many as we can, and then take back the captured." Von looked up at the teleporter. "Can you teleport us out of here?"
"Depends on where. They've got about a half-mile radius blocked off and swarming with feds. I don't know how far I can teleport."
"Looks like we're gonna have to make a stand, then."
"With this many feds swarming the area!" Bolt argued. "We're as good as dead!"
"Do you have any other ideas?"
"I could try teleporting us to as far as I possibly can," the teleporter suggested. "Maybe then it'll be easier to break through the cops."
"It's worth a shot." Von looked down. "You up to it, Marron?" Marron slowly nodded. She winced as she tried to move. Von immediately caught the noise and took her hand off her side. There was a gaping wound that was bleeding profusely, clearly showing one broken rib.
"Quick. Someone get me a first aid kit. Now!" In a matter of moments someone had handed him several bandages.
There was a loud bang and a wisp of gray smoke filtered in from the bottom of the door. A man was giving out orders on the other side.
"Von, hurry it up will you?" Hawk asked. He was eyeing the door warily.
Von ripped the bandage with his teeth and tucked the end underneath several layers of the wrapping. Marron winced as he touched the wound.
"Don't worry, Marron," Von whispered as he lifted her up in his arms. "We'll clean you up once this is all over."
Another bang sounded, and Von turned towards the teleporter. "Get us the hell out of here, Connie."
The teleporter, Connie, nodded and grabbed hold of several of the mutants. The rest formed a circle, and grabbed onto each other's arms. Connie closed her eyes and, in a matter of moments, they were out of the Shelter…
…and in the middle of a group of cops.
The officers were thoroughly shocked to see a group of teenagers appear from out of nowhere in the middle of their circle of police cars. But they weren't surprised for long.
"Fire at will, men! Take down those freaks!" The mutants were soon peppered with incoming bullets.
"Suspend!" Von yelled out. One of the older mutants stepped forward. She held out her arms, stopping the bullets before they reached them.
Bolt gave a yell and slammed his fists together. A huge stream of electricity shot from his hands, splitting into several smaller streams. They struck at the cars, causing their engines to blow.
"Don't stop, men! Keep firing!" And the men did keep firing.
This time, Suspend and Bolt weren't ready. A bullet lodged in Bolt's leg, causing him to cry out in pain and fall to his knees. Suspend suddenly fell to the ground, unconscious. The others didn't know if she was dead or not, and they didn't have time to figure that out.
"Shield!" Von yelled. A freshman boy held up his arms and a transparent film surrounded them. "I don't know how long this shield'll last, Von! We can't stay here!"
Marron wasn't listening to them as they tried to figure out what to do next. She was staring at one of the officers who wasn't firing. He, too, was staring at her in complete shock. "Dad…"
Suddenly she was being lifted up. Marron turned her eyes back on Von. "Von!"
"If anything, you'll be able to contact the others! We'll try holding them off! Connie!"
Connie turned around and was about to grab Marron when an officer suddenly threw a stick of dynamite.
"Connie!" Shield yelled out.
But it was too late.
The dynamite blew, penetrating the shield, the blow slamming full force into Connie. She screamed and fell to the ground.
Von swore once more and turned to Hawk.
"Hawk! Take Marron and get out of here!" He threw her at Hawk and Hawk caught her, flying as he did so. He started to fly up higher into the sky as Von and the remaining mutants tried keeping the officers' attentions.
But one officer had spotted Hawk escaping. He aimed and shot. The bullet lodge in the back of Hawk's neck, instantly killing him. He started falling to the ground.
"MARRON!" Von and Marron's father yelled at the same time.
Marron continued to fall closer and closer to the ground…
Len was screaming as this vision repeated itself.
"Len!" Marron cried out.
"Get away from me! Get away!" Len continued to scream as she backed away from them. She tripped and fell on top of Hawk, screaming as the vision of him getting shot started racing through her mind. "Stay away!" She gripped her head. "Get out! Get out! Stop it!" She ran to the door, where two strong mutants were standing.
"Len! Let us help you! Len!" Marron cried out.
Len screamed, and gripped her head harder.
Suddenly, Marron fell to the ground groaning and gripping her head as well.
And it wasn't just her.
All the other telepaths in the Shelter were groaning in pain.
"Marron!" Von muttered. He finally stood up and ran to where Marron had collapsed. "Marron? What's wrong? What is it?"
Bolt's sister, the black-haired freshman, started screaming, for she, too, was a telepath. "Bolt! Tell her to stop! Tell her to stop!"
"It hurts! God, it hurts!" another telepath cried out.
Pretty soon all of the telepaths were groaning and crying out in pain.
"What's happening to them!" Bolt yelled out, as he tried to comfort his sister.
"The same thing that Len did to Z…" Von muttered to himself. He glanced at Len. "Len! Stop it! Please!"
Len screamed and glanced up at the two mutants standing by the door. "Go away!" She began to scream again. Suddenly, the two mutants were floating and were thrown to the other end of the Shelter. The door opened, and Len ran up the steps, still gripping her head in pain.
"We have to bring her back here!" Hawk replied. He started to fly forward.
"No!" Von ordered. The telepaths had stopped screaming, but they were all knocked unconscious. "We have to take care of the injured. Take them to the hospital room. Get them all comfortable. Now!" The medics and several of the other mutants began running here and there to get everything set up for their patients.
"Sprint. Sharp Eyes. Alarm." Three teenage mutants, one of them being the speed mutant from Len's English class, stepped towards Von as he laid Marron on a stretcher. "Follow Len. Don't let her know you're there. Just follow her. She's got enough sense to know that she shouldn't be seen by anyone." The three mutants nodded and quickly ran up the steps, in search for the new mutant.
Von sighed and briskly walked to where they had placed Marron on a hospital bed next to Z. He looked at both the mutants, and a frown came across his face. "Z. Marron. What did you guys see?" He gave Marron's hand a squeeze.