Chapter 4
AN: Thanks for all the follows and favorites again.
"Adelaide," he breathed in sharply as he quickly took me in his warm arms.
"Erik," I closed my eyes, tears falling slowly. "I missed you so much," I gripped him tightly.
"Adelaide, you don't know how much...," he trailed off as he fell silent, just enjoying the silence between us. I breathed in his scent, a comforting smell of fresh brewed coffee.
"I'm so glad I found you," I smiled up at him, his body towered over me a few inches.
"Where were you all this time?" I asked curiously as I sat on the couch and patted the spot next to me. He sat down and leaned back, laying his arms on the back of the couch. His smile instantly pulled into a line as his eyes hardened. I didn't like this side of Erik.
"I was locating Shaw…or as I knew him long ago, Dr. Schmidt," he looked off in the distance.
I gulped, Schmidt. "Erik, does that mean th-."
"That he was the guy who killed my mother? Yes," he cut me off as he clenched his hand into a fist.
"I'll help you," I smiled as I twirled my fingers in mid-air. A small spiral of flame emitted out of my finger as I watched it spiral slowly. I demonstrated a bit of my powers for him.
"I'll help you kill him," I growled as the flame suddenly turned into a ball before I extinguished it.
"Thank you," he smiled at me, and for a moment I saw the little Erik looking at me.
"No problem," I patted his shoulders reassuringly. "Friends forever, remember?" I smiled.
"Haha, yes I do remember," Erik smiled.
Charles walked in the room.
"I think it's time you meet our other recruits," Charles said.
"Shall we then," I said smiling and I got from the seat.
"Very well , follow me," He led me towards the glass doors, men in suits swirling around us in an infinitely busy blur. Erik followed just behind, and I could feel the tenseness radiate off him. He didn't trust these people either. We entered the front doors and went up a staircase onto a circular platform. Then we went up more stairs, but from there I lost track of which way we went. I was too distracted by all the people rushing past; men in suits, men in military uniform, men in white lab coats
We came out to another courtyard, but this one was a little more welcoming. There was actual grass – framed by cement and benches, but it was there. In the center was a large bronze statue of some professor or political figure. It might have seemed daunting if I hadn't looked through the large window at the opposite side.
Warm light poured through it, and inside were six teenagers. They were sitting on leather couches and chairs around an oval table. They were talking, laughing... they looked happy. There were two girls. The first had glossy black hair, hanging about her leather clad shoulders. She wore knee high boots and a skirt, the ensemble showing a fair bit of her tanned skin – Latino perhaps. The other girl had beautiful hair too, falling around in lengthy golden curls. Her skin was creamy, though only her arms really showed as she wore pants and boots. It was her shirt that was sleeveless.
The four boys were as different from each other as the girls were. One boy wore a baggy blue knit sweater, and looked highly nervous through his thick glasses and the brown hair that fell to one side of his face. The boy across from him on the couch beside the Latin girl had chocolate skin and frizzy short hair. He wore a sweater too, and blue, but his was properly fit and he sat with a calm certainty of himself. The other two boys sat on the two chairs.
The one on the right had red hair that had corkscrew curls, falling around his ears and the back of his neck. He was splayed comfortably over the seat, as if he was sitting in his own living room and not surrounded by agents of the United States and world class doctors. The final of the six had tarnished gold hair. He had a black leather jacket, but he looked like the team quarter back rather than the rebellious free spirit. That might have been due to the open blue plaid shirt and white tee-shirt underneath. He sat back with a casual confidence.
"Everyone, this is Adele," Charles introduced. They all replied with a surprisingly friendly welcome.
"That's Sean, Raven, Alex, Hank, Darwin, and Angel," he introduced them, going around the group one by one. I stared uncomfortably out over all of them, but nodded and smiled at each one. Being greeted to a bunch of people all at once wasn't quite the best experience...
"We'll take our leave then," Charles said.
"Where you are going?" I asked.
"We need talk someone. Don't worry Adele we'll be back," Erik said with a small smile.
"Okay," I said.
Charles and Erik left and I took a seat in an open chair next to Sean.
"Sooo," Raven spoke up. I turned my eyes toward her.
"I think we should all come up with code-names. We're government agents now and we should have some kind of code-names. I want to be called Mystique,"
"Damn- I wanted to be called Mystique," Sean joked, a phony disappointed tone in his voice. I looked over curiously at the boy, then looked back when Raven laughed.
"I called it first- besides," the girl suddenly turned into a copy of the boy with a wave of blue, and I peered on with a sudden piqued interest. "I'm more mysterious than you." Maybe these mutants weren't so bad after all. The group whooped and hollered at Raven's transformation, and she quickly turned back into her own form.
"Darwin- what about you?"
The man with dark skin and a handsome face stood up and shrugged the question off.
"Well, Darwin's already kind of a nickname. You know- adapt to survive and all... check this out," he turned and walked over toward a fish tank on the side of the room. Everyone became interested and turned to watch, even I smiled with anticipation. Darwin looked back over at us before dunking his head into the tank- growing gills within a matter of seconds. He took a breath under the surface and we cheered once more. I clapped along with everyone, laughing in a mixture of relief and entertainment. I had finally found a seemingly good group of people like her- ones that all shared their differences.
"What about you?" Darwin asked Sean as he walked back over. The boy sat back in thought, hands folded.
"I want to be called... Banshee,"
"And why do you want to be named after a wailing spirit?" Hank questioned. Sean looked over with a devilish smile. He stood up,
"You might want to cover your ears," we all complied with his orders.
Sean took a stance by the table, taking in a deep breath. He held it for a moment, looked around, and then let loose an awful high-pitched sound. His aim missed the glasses on the table and shattered the window instead. I looked into the courtyard beyond. No Charles and Erik thank god. Nervously we all broke into laughter.
"You're next," Sean pointed at Angel, and the girl stood up.
"Well, my stage name was Angel," she spoke, taking off her jacket. Sean let out a whistle. "It kinda fits," the tattoo on her back pulled off into wings like a dragonfly.
"You can fly?!" Raven nearly shouted.
"Uh-huh... and I there's also this," the girl turned, took a breath, and shot out a kind of acidic fire ball that landed on the head of a statue outside. I looked on impressed at the group of people, hoping my turn would just be skipped over. I never really liked showing off her ability in front of people- let alone strangers.
"What's your name?" I spoke up, asking Hank who was sitting on the couch next to Raven.
"How about Big-foot?" Alex laughed, though no one else seemed to find it humorous.
"Well, you know what they say about guys with big feet... and yours are kinda small," Raven retorted. Sean nearly jumped out of his seat laughing and the others joined.
"Well, Alex. What about you? What can you do?" Darwin questioned.
"I... can't do it in here," he replied.
"Can you do it out there?" Darwin nodded outside. The man shook his head and laughed, but Raven and Angel began to chant his name to go show off.
"Ok- ok!" he gave up with a laugh and stood up. "But when I say get down you have to get down," we nodded and followed him to the edge of the broken window- which he continued out of to the courtyard. I stood beside Sean and Angel, looking eagerly outside with them.
"Get down," he called. We leaned back into the room, only to lean back out. "Get down!" No one budged, and Alex waved a hand at us.
A moment passed, then suddenly with a slight movement- giant red disks buzzed and appeared from Alex, shooting across the courtyard uncontrollably. One tore the statue right in half. We erupted louder than before at his performance. Angel and Raven jumped up and down, and they guys clapped as Alex walked back in. I folded my arms, looking away as I dreaded the inevitable question.
Sean looked my way, and grinned. "So what do you do?"
I could feel the attention turn my way, and I shrugged. Any comfort I'd felt with them disappeared as I stepped out into the courtyard.
"I'd rather not show you my power it's dangerous," I said.
"Oh come on!" Raven laughed, walking over and stand beside me. She put a hand on my arm. "Show us. It's okay – we won't judge you,"
"Yeah, can't be any more disgusting than Angel's acid lougy," Sean teased, ducking as Angel took a swipe at his head.
"Fine, I need a volunteer," I said sighing.
"I'll do it," Raven said.
"Here goes nothing," I said and grabbed Raven's hand.
I let go of Raven's hand after a few seconds and I transformed into Alex and then I transformed back into myself.
"That was badass," Sean said and everyone clapped.
"You can copy mutations," Hank stated.
"Pretty much," I said.
"Your name has to Copy Cat," Raven said excitedly.
I walked back into the rec room with a little more confidence around the small group.
After the powers showing anarchy took over. Someone had found the music player and began to blast it loudly. The tune echoed throughout the courtyard, and I wondered why no one had stumbled by to ask what the heck was going on. I found the noise a little too loud- and excused myself from the room. No one seemed to mind my absence, so I exited quietly and without a word into the hall. The quiet was a welcome friend to my ears compared to a blaring music box I could never grow fond of.
Not to mention, the colorful group of people made me slightly overwhelmed with their loud voices and no room for personal space. I hastened down the marbled floors and decided to find the bathrooms. I wandered up and down the hallway, probably passing the same elevator two times before a suit finally appeared in front of me.
"Excuse me," I spoke.
His attention was lagging, but after a few moments of not appearing to notice- he stopped and looked at me.
"What?" his reply was curt.
"Nevermind," I growled back, pushing past the rude man without a second glance. I would just wander around until my bladder led me to a bathroom... That happens- right?
My bladder led me around for 10 minutes until I made my way back through the lobby, and darted for a room promptly labeled 'Women'. It had been hidden in a darkened hallway, and was luckily free of any suits. A snotty woman would probably be worse than a dickhead guy at this point in time, and dealing with the sorts was not something I favored at the moment.
I walked back into the room, drying my hands on my pants, and looked up to an awkward situation. Charles, Erik, and a new brunette headed woman were standing with disapproval at the group.
"Where were you?" Charles turned his attention to me, and I looked helplessly at the others.
"Bathroom," I replied hastily. His eyes narrowed, and while the other two left him, he looked at Raven.
"I expected better from you," he spoke. The somber walk as he left was more painful than being scolded, and I didn't know whether or not to run after him or cower away into a corner. I looked over at the rest of the group, then slunk away to sit down on the couch. Sean sat next to her,
"Brutal," his voice was nervous and I agreed with a nod.
"Well- we did destroy that statue," Darwin's voice was rather uplifting, though I still felt like I had done some horrible deed.
"Actually, Havoc did," Sean corrected. The blond on the other side of the room shot him a dirty look, shaking his head.
"Who was that woman standing with Charles and Erik?" I asked them.
"Moira MacTaggert. A big agent, she runs things around here," Darwin answered with a scowl. Their fun had momentarily been ruined by a sour mood, but eventually things would calm down.
A few hours passed and workers had come to replace the window Sean had broken. I looked on as Alex and Darwin engaged in some strange game she hadn't seen before. Everything was pretty concise lately- to the point. They had been locked up like bad dogs while the trio that scolded them took a trip to Russia. I envied them, I had always wanted to travel somewhere else. The States hadn't been very friendly to me lately. Well, at all.
I rose my eyes when two men walked by the window, stopping to taunt the group sitting around the couch.
"Look! The circus is in town!" one of the men stated. "Come on," he looked over at Angel, "Why don't you give us a little..." and proceeded to imitate her flying abilities. She shook her head with disgust at them and sighed. "Hey- you. Show us the foot! Yeah, c'mon Bigfoot," he mocked as Hank stood up to close the curtain.
"Assholes," I breathed, taking a drink from my water glass. Humans were about as wretched as some of the mutants she'd met. Actually, no human I ever met was considerably nice. With another drink I delved into my thoughts, completely missing dialogue from the others. Suddenly I wished the drink in my hand was beer... or even whiskey. A thud brought me back into the moment.
"What was that?" I looked up from my glass and saw everyone staring out a now opened window. The courtyard was empty, and I walked over quickly to see what they were all looking at.
"Do you see that?" Raven asked, and they all looked up in time to see a man dropped from somewhere above.
He fell onto the ground in front of the window and they all screamed in unison. Everyone rushed away from the window, save for me- who was now intrigued by whatever was doing this. More people began to fall from the sky, breaking glass everywhere and landing all over the courtyard. Their bodies littered the ground like trash- yet no cause could be seen. I closed my eyes, taking on my heightened senses with a deep breath.
My eyes flashed, scanning the night sky with ease. Everything seemed brighter outside, everything seemed- quiet. A group of armed men suddenly appeared, aiming their weapons at an unforseen force.
"Stay in the room!" one of them shouted.
"Behind you!" Raven shouted.
And I saw the lagged time of a teleporter appearing behind the group. He held weapons in his hands, prepping for a slaughter. Someone screamed behind me as the man disappeared again, popping up around the courtyard in flashes up red to kill every man who had a gun pointed at him. I ducked when the window was shattered, and there were more screams.
"Like hell we're staying!" Darwin shouted, and the all got up to run out of the room. I peered over the ledge with interest, avoiding the rushed escape of the others. There was such a flurry- they barely even noticed I hadn't followed them.
I crawled over the ledge with a methodical quietness, sneaking into the courtyard with a duck here and there. The teleporter was making a mess of the yard, and fell people as quickly as it took to blink. In my heightened sight, the disappearance and reappearance of the man seemed like slow-motion, so keeping track of him was no problem...until he appeared right behind me. I ducked as a knife seared over my head, and spun on crouched feet to see nothing.
Taking the opportunity, I took off at a run across the courtyard the man appeared in front of me, and with a reflex on a dime, I leapt off the ground and used the statue to my advantage. Like a top, the momentum carried me back around the statue, I landed a blow onto the unsuspecting man with my feet. He disappeared with a grunt, and came into focus about twenty feet away. His expression was one of surprise and anger, though he seemed more angry with the fact he hadn't realized I was a mutant too.
The teleporter gripped the knives with frustration and vanished, appearing beside I swiftly. I threw a punch, missing him by a second, and counter-acted with a scratch behind me. He had appeared right where I planned, but his suspicion made me only catch the fringes of his coat. I curled my fist tightly and swung behind me again. The exchange of twists and turns went on for about 5 minutes before I made a break for it across the courtyard once more. This time, though, I ran back for the broken window. The man was quick, and blocked the path of travel just I neared the shattered glass.
"I would suggest you move," I hissed at him.
"I would suggest you give up," I was taken back by his Russian accent, and with the puzzlement came another surprise.
He disappeared into smoke, the puff of his existence gone. I saw cyclone quickly heading towards the rec room and I quickly hopped over the ledge of the window and rejoined the group. I turned around and saw a man in a grey suit stepping through the broken window
"You want the mutants? They're right through that door. Just let us normal people go. We're no threat..."
I heard a stabbing sound and the man who entered the room was my worst nightmare. Klaus Schmidt aka Sebastian Shaw.
"Where's the telepath?"
"Not here," the teleporter replied.
"Well, at least I can take this silly thing off," Shaw said.
Shaw saw me and gave me a menacing smile.
"Ah, Adelaide good to see you well," Shaw said.
"Ho-How does he know you?" Raven asked.
"I knew it! I knew you were working for him!" Angel glared at me.
I seethed with anger.
"I would never work for this man. This is the man who destroyed my life and Erik's!" I screamed and I conjured up sword ready to kill Shaw.
Shaw shook his head. "Aw none of that Azazel," He said
A gasp escaped my lips as Azazel appeared in front of me pulled me with a jerking motion into his own closed fist. I fell to the ground in a daze, nose bleeding. I groaned and rolled over onto my stomach, eyes tightly closed in an attempt to block out the throbbing pain that would be a broken nose. My senses were ringing immensely, aiding to the headache that pounded in my temples.
Azazel wrapped his tail around my throat. Shaw walked up to me.
"Well haven't you grown," Shaw chuckled while inspecting me.
"I've missed you dear daughter," Shaw said with a sinister smirk plastered wildly across his face.
AN: Dun dun dun! Reviews please!