Hi all!
I won't normally update every day; I start law school in a few weeks so I will be very busy with school work when that happens. Until then I will probably be posting pretty often since I still have a lot of down time. This story will follow First Class, Days of Future Past, and Apocalypse, although I will make some changes, obviously, to fit my characters in and I have a few ideas for original plot lines to weave in.
Here's chapter 2!
Lara Clarke laid curled in a ball in the middle of her small bedroom, blanket pulled tight around herself as though it had the power to ward off the emotions flooding her. Not for the first time she found herself cursing the neighbors next door for moving in the apartment beside them. The other apartment had been blissfully unoccupied until now, which had granted her a reprieve from being constantly overwhelmed by other people's feelings. But of course it didn't last.
Waves of anger spread through her veins as she heard two of her neighbors get into a screaming match. This was not uncommon: she got the sense that the parents of the family were very unhappily married and fought constantly. A pang of sadness stabbed her heart, probably from the youngest child hearing her parents scream at each other. As if that wasn't enough, bitterness clawed at her insides and she guessed that was from the older sister, probably resenting her parents for fighting in front of her baby sister.
The multitude of emotions overwhelmed her and she felt tears streaming out of her eyes as her skull pounded violently. Sobs wracked her chest and she prayed for it to stop.
She heard the front door open and felt her sister's presence through her always complex emotions: the heavy weight of her stress on her chest, the pity she felt towards Lara pulling at her heart, and lastly the usual small pricking at her heart that was a result of her hidden resentment towards her for being so useless. Her silent sobs turned to strangled gasps as the three new emotions added on top of the others already wreaking havoc on her.
Her door flew open and she just barely registered her sister call out her name; all the sounds around her were muted, as though she was listening underwater. This wasn't uncommon; sometimes the barrage of emotions hindered her other senses.
When she saw the outline of a man through her blurred vision come towards her she scrambled away, backing herself into the corner of the small room. Her own panic was the spark that finally set off the volatile mix of unstable emotions within her.
Doubled over in pain, her delicate hands pulling at her hair and eyes squeezed shut, she was completely unaware of the chaos ensuing around her.
Whatever Kira expected to happen when she brought the two men back to her dingy apartment, this was definitely not it.
Upon entering the room they had heard Lara's strangled sobs and she had immediately rushed into the room to find her twin having what she could only describe as a fit in the middle of the floor. She had screamed Lara's name, panic surging through her at the sight of her sister in so much agony.
Charles had approached Lara cautiously, which only caused her to throw herself into the corner of her room. Tears streamed down Kira's face as she saw her sister hunched in a corner, screaming in pain. She felt Erik put a gentle hand on her back in an attempt to comfort her. It did little, but she would later appreciate the sentiment.
Just then Charles let out a scream of his own, his voice breaking from the force of his agony. One of his hands went to his head and the other to his chest, gripping both as though his life depended on it.
"Charles!" Erik called, concern evident in his voice he he ran over to check on the telepath.
"I tried to...calm her mind," he forced the words out, breathing heavy at the exertion. "She lashed out…" he screamed again before gritting his teeth and forcing out the rest of his explanation. "She's projecting...I can't…"
Kira couldn't take hearing her sister's screams, or Charles' for that matter, any longer. Desperate to help, an idea came to her mind. She rushed over between them, laying a hand on both of their arms. Closing her eyes, she concentrated, creating the illusion that both of them were alone in a room. She focused the illusion to include peace in all senses: it was quiet, no one was around for them to pick up their thoughts or emotions, they were calm, happy.
Slowly, Lara and Charles relaxed as the illusion took hold, their screams subsiding. Hesitantly, she released Charles from the illusion first. His eyes refocused and he looked at Kira in awe.
"Thank you," he whispered, trying to catch his breath. Still occupied with keeping her sister wrapped up in the illusion, she nodded.
"Help," she said shortly, not able to talk and hold the illusion at the same time.
Charles reached out, cradling Lara's head in his hands. He closed his eyes and Kira waited with baited breath. A few moments later, his sister's eyes shut and she slumped against the wall.
"I eased her into unconsciousness," he explained. "She'll remain asleep for awhile. We should take her somewhere where she'll be okay upon awakening." Kira could only bring herself to nod slightly before standing up on shaky feet. She had never used her powers in such a way before and she was feeling the effects of exerting so much energy. Strong arms gripped hers in support and she muttered a thank you to who ended up being Erik.
Charles, though still weak from her sister's accidental assault, bent down and scooped Lara's unconscious form into his arms. He silently left the room, the other two following wordlessly behind him.
