Hi, as promised here is Angie's introduction! I hope you like it, and her! I am soooooooooooooooo sorry it took so long, I forgot that writing a chapter from scratch takes a lot longer than just re-iterating an episode. Then Christmas got in the way, then New Year and before I knew it I had forgotten. I'm so sorry, but I hope this chapter makes up for it
Angie: SuperminionXD doth not own the X-men or the Bible. She doth own Fliss, Father, Millie , the ones she calls Cat-Clones and I. Also the plot for this chapter belongs to her.
SuperminionXD
I have never felt particularly out of place at the Institute, and it wasn't as if I didn't fit in. It's more that I don't have anybody particularly close. Sure everyone is nice, and the Professor is right we are like a large dysfunctional family. But I have no-one to really confide in. Kitty is nice in short doses, but sometimes her insistence to teach me about makeup and fashion gets a bit annoying. It's not like I had anything like that before I came here either, the friends I had in primary school went their different ways and I was left alone. I sort of liked it. But just because I enjoy solitude, doesn't mean I want it all of the time. When I was younger I dreamt of having a friend like me who I could trust with anything. Anyway, back to work. I tap my pencil impatiently on the edge of my notepad. Stupid project!
"What's the trouble?" Scott asks, having walked into the room and noticed my annoyance.
"Music project" I tell him, "I can't do it!"
"Isn't Music your strong suit?" he inquires.
"Normally" I reply. I sigh and return to my work as Scott moves on to do whatever it was he came here to do. It's tricky; I normally have no problem with music. But this project is hard; we have to compose a short song. I wouldn't have to do it if they hadn't identified me as Gifted and Talented. Seriously, I can listen to Music, sing it even, but not write it.
'X-Men, Assemble in the briefing room' The Professor's telepathic message interrupted my train of thought and I ran and changed into my uniform before flying down stairs.
"Last night Cerebro picked up a new mutant signature" The Professor explains, "She is located in Old Halley, a small town near Los Angelis, your mission is to try and convince her to join us"
"A simple recruitment, why the whole team?" Scott asks, intrigued as to why he called us, him and Storm tend to handle most recruitments.
"This girl is different" The Telepath tells us
"How so?" Jean asks.
"Although we know she exists, Cerebro can find no information on her anywhere, as if she does not, there are no records of her ever being born" He explains, "Also Sabretooth was spotted in the area last night, this girl may need our help and protection"
"We're on it right away, Professor" Scott nods, "X-Men, to the Blackbird"
We all troop down to the hangar and onto the jet. The journey is rather long and boring but eventually we get there. The Professor has sent us without any Instructors, instead entrusting the entire mission to Scott and Jean.
The coordinates lead to a large Church with a spire. We spiral in and land on an empty patch of the graveyard. It's evening and shadows criss-cross the grass, giving the entire area a decidedly creepy feel. The church is dark, the only light being a tiny window in the adjoined Rectory.
"Spread out and check the perimeter" Scott orders, "Shadowcat, take the north side, Nightcrawler, the south, Spyke and Rogue, you're East and West. Laser, Jean and I are going in"
The others spread out to their assigned places while Cyclops, Jean and I cautiously enter the Building. Inside it is rather pretty; the waning light filters through the brightly-coloured stained-glass windows casting patterns on the stone-paved floor. There are two blocks of Pews on either side of the Central Aisle, all facing the largest of the windows which depicts several angels around some words in Latin which I can't read.
But the place seems altogether deserted, creepily so in fact. We split up to search the different Aisles; Scott takes the Central one and Jean the Right one leaving me with the left. I tiptoe forwards, scanning the long wooden benches for signs of life. I find nothing until I come to a small wooden door off to the side, partially covered by a curtain. From what I remember from the exterior of the building I surmise that it must lead into the conjoined Rectory. I motion to the others what I've found and make to open the door.
Just as I do so I hear a shuffling and the handle twists of its own accord. I squeal and jump back as the door creeks open to reveal a strange hunched figure.
"So you've come" the figure says in a strange mix of a German, English and American Accents. I frown, he knew we were coming? How could he have known? And how did he know we weren't the bad guys or something? I look closer at him; he wears a brown dressing gown over what I assume to be Pyjama trousers and Slippers. I suddenly find myself hoping we did not wake him up. His hair is white and wispy on the top but his beard is bushy and slightly darker. His appearance reminds me somewhat of Father Christmas only a lot thinner. Scott and Jean re-appear behind me.
"You were expecting us?" Jean asks, intrigued.
"I always knew this day would come, though I wished it wouldn't" he replied cryptically.
"My name is Scott and they're Jean and Fliss" Scott introduced, "We're from a place called the Xavier Institute"
"I know who you are; you may call me Father Francis" the Old Man replied with a hint of amusement, "Please, come in."
He turned back down the corridor, clearly expecting us to follow. We did, cautiously though. He seemed to have a limp and shuffled slightly on his feet as we slowly proceeded down the hallway. Once we came to the end he took what appeared to be an old-fashioned lantern from a hook on the wall and used the light to open the second door.
"We're still fundraising to get the Church wired up so I'm afraid this will have to do for now" He told us, "She is through here"
We followed him into the cluttered Study/Living room that is clearly where he spends most of his time and watch as he knocks on a door on the other side of the room.
"Angel, we have visitors" he calls as he slowly opens the door. The room on the other side is quite dark, having no windows to the outside, and is quite obviously someone's bedroom. At first glance the small room seems quite empty except for the bed and a stack of books in the corner. Then a small face peeks out of the shadows behind the bed. The face belongs to a small Girl who doesn't look like she could be older than seven. Her hair is what strikes me first, in the low light it seems almost luminescent, it is as pale a white as the Old Man's. It looks slightly bedraggled and seems to have been cut roughly by someone who knows nothing of hairdressing. Father Francis I assume. The second is her eyes, which are not pink as I would expect from her hair colouring but shining silver. Her skin is so pale it's as if she has never even seen the sun. All of these give her a rather ethereal appearance, like a ghost girl or fairy. The only difference would be that she wore what appeared to be wearing one of the Priest's tattered old shirts.
"Do not be afraid" she begs in a small voice as she peeks further from the shadows. Six strange white shapes loom behind her like ghosts and it isn't until she steps fully into the light that I realise they are part of her. Wings, three pairs of pure white feathered wings like an Angel's, stick out from the centre of her back. They fold around her protectively as she cowers slightly under our gaze. Both Scott and Jean seem unsure of how to react to such a young girl, most recruitments are teenagers since that is when their powers manifest.
"We won't be" I smile at the girl, kneeling down to her level. She puts her head on one side and seems to drink in my appearance.
"You are like me?" she says, speaking it like a question though she seems not to need confirmation. I nod anyway.
"I come from a place where there are lots of people like us" I tell her, "We would like you to come and live there too"
"I would go outside?" she asks, her eyes wide. I nod and she looks excited, then she turns to Father Francis for confirmation.
"Of course you can, My Angel" he smiles at the girl.
"You would come too?" she asked her 'Father', who shook his head sadly.
"I must stay and attend to things here" he tells her, tears brim up in her eyes all of a sudden.
"I do not wish for to leave you!" she sobs, rushing and hugging his legs.
"But you must, your destiny lies elsewhere" he tells her solemnly, "It would be selfish of me to allow you to remain here"
"Then I do not like destiny" she concludes stubbornly. The old man lets out a small chuckle and bends so he can cup the tiny girl's chin in his hand.
"My Child, who are we to go against the will of God?" He smiles, watery-eyed, then straightens up and turns to us, "You are needed outside, Angel, go with them"
The girl, Angel, looks beseechingly at her adoptive Father, clearly wishing she didn't have to leave, but he was equally as clearly resolved and she did not wish to go against his will. I stand and hold my hand out to her, still slightly teary from their adorable scene. She trustingly places her small hand in mine with a small reluctant smile. I smile back as the Priest ushers us back through the Study and down the corridor.
"You can still visit" I console her, she smiles at this small comfort.
"It will not be the same" she replies sadly.
"Nothing ever is" I sigh wistfully, remembering the events leading up to my own recruitment to the Institute. I briefly wonder if the girl's wings had just appeared or if they had always been there. If so, how did she register on Cerebro? It seems rather unrealistic that wings growing would appear like that in the same way as someone, say, bursting into flames. I make a note to ask the Professor later. As we re-entered the church I can hear clear sounds of a fight going on. Father Francis was right about us being needed, but how did he know? We couldn't hear anything when we were back in the room. However there is no time to puzzle over this as Scott and Jean rushed to the scene leaving me with the Girl and the Priest. We walk out slowly so that the old man could keep up and by the time we arrive both Jean and Cyclops are thoroughly engaged in the battle. The assailant is Sabretooth who, as the Professor predicted, seems to also be after Angel.
Unfortunately, due to the villain's cat-like stealth and the lack of light, the X-Men weren't faring too well. The only one making any real effect was Kurt, having better sight in the dark than the others. Not only that but Sabretooth is joined by his two daughters and members of the Brotherhood, Amber and Sienna. The two girls, or Cat-clones as I call them, as well as being identical twins and operating with some sort of hive mind have inherited their Father's cat-like abilities. Because of this all of the six X-men are locked in pairs battling the three felines. The near-darkness is definitely to the enemy's advantage due to their night-vision. The soft light given by Father Francis's lantern and my own pink glow is not bright enough for me to truly see what is going on so I focus on my training and manage to purposely slip into Infrared-vision.
The grey shapes form into a comprehensible picture and I can see Kurt and Jean, the former using the full advantage of his teleportation to confuse their assailant, fighting the larger of the three feline figures, Sabretooth. I see Evan blindly flinging spikes in the vague direction of where one of the Cat-clones is fighting Kitty, whose tactics seem to be mostly phasing and dodging. On the other side of the graveyard Rogue and Scott battling the final Cat-clone, the latter's eye-blasts though virtually invisible to my Infrared-vision were clearly hitting the feral girl, causing both girls to yowl in pain.
"Evan, Look out!" I cry out when I see the Cat-girl pounce towards him, claws unsheathed. He manages to dodge out the way. Then all of a sudden both of the Cat-girls screech in pain, I turn and see that it is courtesy of a psychic blast from Jean who has switched opponents. With both the Cat-clones unconscious the entire team now converges on Sabretooth.
"W-what is happening?" Angel asks nervously, edging towards her guardian and in doing so pulling me with her. I squeeze her hand comfortingly, realising I have forgotten that all they could see is shadows moving since they only have normal vision. The feral growls emanating from the fight must be terrifying for such a small child.
"It's ok, nothing's going to hurt you" I assure her.
"Is it always this dark in the Outside?" She asks me. I am slightly taken aback, she has never been outside? Does she not know anything outside of the small house? I remember how shocked she seemed at the idea of leaving, no wonder!
"Not always" I tell her, "It's just night-time at the moment, sometimes it's very beautiful"
"Wilt thou show me?" she pleads, her language confuses me for a second. It sounds like she's speaking out of a Shakespeare play or an old translation of the Bible. In a weird way it kind of fits her, making her seem more like a tiny Angel or Cherub. I realise that, living in a Church all her life, she must not have heard or read much else.
"Of course" I smile at her.
"Why do you glow?" She inquired, examining the hand she was holding.
"Be nice, Angel" Father Francis warns softly.
"It's ok" I tell him and turn to Angel, "The same reason you have your wings"
"But why is that?" She insists.
"You'll have to ask the Professor, he knows more than I do" I recommend. I notice that the noises from the fight have quietened down. A quick look around confirms that the final villain has been defeated.
"Woo mission success" Evan celebrates tiredly.
"Can we, like, go back now?" Kitty whines.
"Alright" Scott relinquishes, "Everyone into the Blackbird, Sir?"
"Enough with that, call me Harold" the Priest corrects, "And of course She'll be going with you, won't you Angel?"
The small girl attached to my arm reluctantly nodded.
"Goodbye Father, I shall miss you" she lets go of my hand and hugs the man tightly round his legs.
"As will I, My Child, as will I" Father Francis replies, gently stroking the Girl's white locks. I look round to see Scott standing in the doorway of the Blackbird.
"We need to go now" I tell the pair.
"Look after her" He says to me, his pale blue eyes searing into my glowing pink ones.
"I promise" I reply with a nod.
"Then I will see you again" he smiles, detangling the little girl from himself, "People like us must do what we can"
I am slightly confused at what he means but I take the small Girl's hand and lead her towards the Jet. Away from the only place she has ever known.
On the plane she sits as close to me as physically possible, her wings are curled around her protectively so that only her face is peeking out and the hand that is latched onto mine.
She flinches as the engines roar to life and I squeeze her hand comfortingly. Her silver eyes are full of fear, fear of the unknown. Yet at the same time I see excitement at finally seeing the world beyond the stained glass.
When we arrive back at the institute everyone all files off the Jet. I gently nudge the limp head that rests on my lap; several wings twitch as the silver eyes open and look bleary and confused.
"Father?" she asks, bewildered and seemingly not remembering the evening's events.
"No, Fliss" I correct.
"Fliss?" there is a flicker of recognition as she repeats my name.
"We're here, come see your new home" I invite
"Home?" she repeats as if testing out the new word.
"Yes, come on!" I encourage her, moving the wing that has settled on my shoulder. I slowly lead the tired girl out of the Plane and into the Hangar where the instructors are waiting. She cowered behind both me and her own wings as the Professor, Storm and Beast gazed upon her.
"So young!" Storm comments
"It is alright" the Professor comforts, "You are welcome here. I am Professor Xavier"
Angel stepped from behind me, her wings stretched out in all their white-feathered glory. The instructors looked at them with almost awed expressions.
"Above him stood the Seraphim, each one had six wings. With two they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet and with two they did fly" Beast quotes.
"Isaiah 6 Verse 2" Angel identifies aloud, the seemingly familiar words causing her to perk up considerably. Dr McCoy gave a slight smile. "Father likes that one. He calls me Angel for it"
"That's a lovely name" Storm smiles, "Tell me, Angel, how old are you?"
Angel says nothing, instead she holds up both her hands with all the fingers outstretched. Ten. I find this rather strange since she barely looks older than seven. She rubs her eyes and yawns sleepily, which the Professor quickly notices.
"Perhaps it is a little late for all this" he decides, "Fliss if you'd like to show young Angel to your room you'll find that a temporary bed has been erected."
"Of course, Professor" I nod and begin leading Angel towards the stairs. The Professor seems slightly surprised by my speech, normally I would just nod but this time I don't for some reason.
I take the small girl up to my room where, as the Professor said, there is a small camp-bed set up. Realising that all she had to wear was the old brown shirt, I helped her changed into one of my old T-shirts, cutting a large slit in the back for her wings. Since she is so small and the T-shirt is too large for me as well it just manages to fit over the six feathered wings. She yawns once more as I lay her down on the bed and put the covers over her. Then I change into my own Pyjamas and slip into my own bed.
"Fliss" the small voice persists as something prods my arm. I moan and turn over. I open my eyes to see a small face lit in my own soft pink glow. "Fliss?"
"Yes Angel" I reply sleepily.
"I canst not sleep" She told me in her odd way of speaking, "I miss Father so"
I sit up and take her hand.
"Here, let me show you something" I smile and lead her over to the window, drawing the curtain half way. The night is dark and there is just a spattering of stars.
"Pretty" she says, looking in awe at the scene, making me smile.
"My Mum once told me that if you miss someone you should look up at the night sky and the chances are they're looking too" I tell her, smiling sadly at the memory.
"I like that" she smiles timidly.
"Come on, lets go back to bed" I suggest, I take her back into the bed and tuck her in. "Mum always used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep"
"I would like that too" the small girl yawns sleepily. I smile and begin to sing the small verse I had heard so many times as a child as she drifts off to sleep.
'Kookaburra sits in the old Gum Tre-ee
Merry merry king of the Bushes, ee-ee
Laugh Kookaburra, Laugh Kookaburra
Good your life must be
Cuckoo cuckoo'
So, I hope you liked that. Angie will appear more often than Millie but Fliss is still the main character. I hope that is ok. Most inaccuracies in Angie's speech are purposeful so please don't get annoyed. Also Angie isn't actually called Angie yet, but she will be. try and guess what her codename will be if you want, I did actually mention it in this chapter if you look carefully.
Before anybody asks, Angie is not related to the man who's codename is Angel (His real name escapes me at the moment) they just both have wings, there are differences that aren't just the number of wings, they will become clear within the next few chapters.
Again before anyone asks, yes Father Francis is a Mutant, he has the ability to see the future, like Destiny but he isn't blind. I think that is all the explanations for now.
I won't try to predict when I'll update next since I'll probably disappoint but I will say this: I will not abandon this story. My Characters are part of who I am and I can't just desert them.
Bye for now,
SuperminionXD