HEARTS OF STEEL
by Gunman

Disclaimer: I do not own Colossus, X-Men DoFP, Dredd, or their characters.

Summary: Colossus meets Cassandra Anderson and find out they have something in common. They are mutants.

Inspired by 'Caught In The Web' by FrivolousThoughts, and 'Everyone Loves Spidey' by Maximus-Reborn.

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Chapter 3
Cassandra Anderson

(Mega City One)

The cute blond-haired young woman was sitting in a bar just drinking her sorrows away. All around her, images and voices assaulted her mind.

People thinking about doing bad things. People wondering if they were going to find work. People looking to just get so hammered they didn't recall the day they've had. Others just wishing they could die and be done with their hellish lives.

Her name was Cassandra Anderson, a former rookie Judge of Mega City One, born a mutant with telepathic powers, but she looked completely normal.

Mega City One was a wall-city, completely cut off from the outside world. Which was a good thing. The outside world, known as the Cursed Earth, was a radioactive and barren wasteland where anyone and anything died in a matter of days, hours or even minutes depending on how strong they were. A result of the nuclear wars from the last century, the Cursed Earth was a death sentence to anyone who happened to be out there. Mega City One was a 500-square mile city, completely surrounded by the half-mile high walls that protected the people from things on the outside. But radiation from the Cursed Earth had managed to ooze inside the edges of the city, and anyone who lived near those walls was sure to be affected.

Cassandra had been born living only a couple blocks from those walls. Her parents had died to radiation poisoning, but Cassandra had only been affected by it. This caused a unique genetic anomaly in her DNA, giving her psychic abilities that were the strongest the Judges Council had ever seen.

Because of this, she had been recruited into the Judges Academy, where she received less than a passing grade. But because of her powers, she had been given special consideration.

She had been given a second chance.

Her evaluation was supervised by Judge Dredd, the toughest of the Judges. The Judges were men and women who had been given the authority to be judge, jury and executioner to any man or woman who broke the law.

And unfortunately, in a place like Mega City One, the laws were very, very strict.

But Cassandra had understood that.

Mega City One was only 500-square miles, but there were about 800 million people living there, with over 17,000 crimes reported daily.

Resources were tight, food and water were scarce. Jobs, even more so. And with so many people living in such a confined space, problems were certain to emerge. Tensions were high, tempers got short, emotions flared, fights broke out, and before you knew it, there was a riot almost every day of the week.

Because of this, a tight criminal code was implemented.

The Judges were created.

Cassandra knew, actually felt, that she could still make a difference in a place like this. It was her hope that things would get better if people could only be shown a better way.

Dredd had called her admirable for thinking that way. Even though he had seen too much injustice in his life to think otherwise.

Her first mission to Peach Tree, a 200-story slum/apartment complex in the west sector, had been a routine arrest of a local drug dealer responsible for killing three other drug dealers in full view of the people living there, only to find out that someone in the building had no intention of letting them leave.

What was more is that once the building had been forced into lockdown, under the guise of a security test, he and Dredd were not only facing a small army of vicious gangsters and drug dealers, but they were also up against a quartet of crooked Judges who had been called in by the drug dealers leader. A woman named 'Ma-Ma'.

Cassandra and Dredd had to fight their way through dozens of thugs and rogue Judges, resulting in the deaths of many of the buildings residents, eventually encountering Ma-Ma. And after a brief skirmish, they had managed to deliver justice to the drug lord. By throwing her off the high-rise of Peach Tree into the main foyer to prevent her from detonating the upper floors of the building, which would have lead to the destruction of the building and rest of the residents.

However, Cassandra believed that she had failed the evaluation, and so she resigned from The Judges.

Since then she had been trying to find a new life. A new way to help people.

Having been unsuccessful in that respect, she now found herself in this rather seedy bar, where over a dozen people had been undressing her with their eyes and minds. Both men and women.

While she would have once thought it flattering to be considered sexy and attractive by these men, and a few women, she was also disgusted by the mental images they had of her. All the sick, horrible, wretched and depraved visions that came to her mind were enough to make her want to walk out. And puke.

But she pushed them aside and took a seat at the bar.

She was there for less than an hour, after turning away her fifth petitioner, when she felt something tinge at her mind.

She looked to her right and froze when she got a good look at the man who had taken a seat next to her.

He was tall and muscular, quite handsome, with a strong jawline and no visible tattoos or piercings like the other men in the bar. Probably the biggest guy she had ever met. Including Judge Dredd, but Dredd had a more imposing presence than a physical one.

She felt that maybe it was the aura that Dredd projected to intimidate and scare people. His natural hard and gritty experiences that had made him that way.

Then again, Dredd rarely had any problems with repeat offenders. Most of them he executed.

Her mind unintentionally scanned the man next to her.

Peter Rasputin. Russian-born by his parents. And a mutant as well. Super strength and steel-hard skin? Incredible! She'd never met a mutant with powers like that before. In fact, she had never met another mutant like herself, period. She had heard of them, but never met them. Like herself, Peter seemed to be low key

What's more is that Cassandra could immediately tell that he wasn't a degenerate or criminal like the rest of the patrons in the bar. His mind was an open book to her, and she read every page that was there.

She turned towards him.

"Hi." she said.

"Hi." he said back.

"I'm Cassandra." she introduced herself.

"Peter Rasputin. Some people call me Pete." he replied.

"Rasputin. As in you're Russian?" she asked, trying to play it off like she didn't know him already.

"Yes. On my fathers side. My mother was American." he said to her.

Cassandra smiled. This guy had people skills as well.

"So, what's a nice guy like you doing in a place like this?" she asked.

"Looking for work, actually." he answered.

"I've been there." she said. "But unless you're looking for work as a bouncer or a bartender, you're kinda out of luck."

"I thought as much." he said with a sigh.

"Don't suppose you want to talk... somewhere more quiet?" she offered.

"In Mega City One? Is there such a place?" he asked.

"There can be." she said with a smile.

A smile that he returned.

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Cassandra and Peter dated for a while. The young psychic eventually revealing to Peter that she had gifts like he did. Peter was shocked to say the least, but he had to admit that she was at least honest with him.

As the pair got to know each other, they slowly found themselves falling love.

Cassandra eventually met other people like Peter, some with powers and abilities she had never seen nor heard of. But for the most part they were all like her, just people trying to live their lives in a world that was not a happy or hospitable place.

She had eventually moved into Peter's place, which was a small apartment in the Industrial sector of Mega City One, but she found it cozy. Especially with someone she could trust.

Finding honest work was difficult for the pair, even with their unique gifts. Food and water were also day-by-day accommodations, but regardless, Cassandra was at least happy with her life. She was not alone, and she knew that despite his great power, Peter would never hurt her nor place her in any kind of danger. She knew his feelings, even without her psychic powers, and he knew hers, because she told him.

For the first time in a long time, despite living in a place like Mega City One, Cassandra had her hope and faith restored to her, from Peter.

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Authors Notes:

This might have seemed a little short, but it was mostly set up for Cassandra and Colossus to meet. If I continue it, it will be much more action-oriented.

After watching 'Dredd' I thought that Cassandra would be a great person to pair Peter up with. So here it is, the Colossus/Judge Anderson pairing.

Hope everyone likes it. Please review.