Reviews and comment please,:) i do not own X-men
Light... Burning... Burning white light surrounded her, the fire closing in on all sides. Her reactions became more frantic and frightened. The ring of fire danced closer and her skin causing prickles with the heat. Beads of perspiration rolled down her forehead and arms, suffocating from the lack of oxygen.
Even in her disorientated state, she thought only one thing,"I am going to die."
Flames licked at her skin, the heat so intense she can barely hear herself scream, the pain overwhelming all her senses, eager to devour her completely. Yet she is drawn to them as if safe within them. She shrieks again, wishing someone would come to her rescue, or least let her die a painless death. She screams again
"This is my fate and I welcome the Reaper." She cries out drawing what she conceived as her last painful breath.
A cold sweat beads, running down her cheeks as she wakes with her heart beating rapidly against her chest as if it's trying to escape. Glancing around the room, she sees nothing apparent or out of place even, though the smell of smoke lingers in the air. The source of the smell becomes clear when she moves against the sheets and feels the hard, rough surface brush against her. She leaps from the bed to see the blackened sheets burned in a perfect outline of her body. Her eyes widen when she realizes the itch on her arm is due to flaking, black dust covering it and as she looks closer she realises it's ash coating her once fair skin.
Golden highlights mixed with the normal chocolate brown locks obscure her vision as she backs away from the bed in shock. The wall stops any further retreat and she sinks to the floor pulling her knees up to her chest, clasping them in a stunned embrace.
"I am a freak, a misfit, an oddity of nature." She weeps.
Meanwhile in Bayville, NY.
ALERT
Discovery: Mutant signature
Extrapolation Complete
Identity complete.
Name: Hayleigh Joy Trueheart
Residence: PalmBeach, FL
Age: 16
Charles Xavier looked up at Cerebro's screen. As he took Cerebro off his head, the professor placed his fingers on his temples and sent out a telepathic message, "Loganprep the blackbird, Cerebro has detected a new mutant; we are going to have to assemble the whole team for this one."
Questions of her sanity and the seemingly horror-fuelled nightmare occupy her mind on the walk to school. She'd heard the endless rumours about people going missing, of the mutations that fed peoples fear. The revving of an engine behind her pulled her from her thoughts and she turned around to see a black car closing the distance between them. Her pace quickened, trying to pretend she didn't see it and hurried towards school, the couple of blocks feeling more like miles. Her breathing became more frantic as panic and fear took hold. She rounds a corner and chances a glance behind again and the car is gone, neither sight nor sound of it, disappeared without a trace.
The bell rings as she sprints to her first lesson, her focus on reaching the room and trying to forget the events of the morning. The hallway goes on forever, miles of the shiny green floor tiles looming endlessly in front of her. She can feel the eyes of her classmates on her, their whispers closing in, rebounding on the closed wooden doors and stark off white cement walls. Metal lockers creaked open or slammed shut like the doors of prison startling her and she prepared to run. Nausea bubbled up inside as wafts of perfume, sweat and stale food assaulted her.
She staggers into the safety of the empty bathroom but thoughts bounce through her head, "Do they talk about me? Do they condemn my choices?"
She gets her first real look at her hair as she slowly raises her head to look in the mirror. The once chocolate tresses now lined with golden honey framing her stunned and fear-filled face.
"Where is the hair dye when you need it?" she asks herself as she clenches her fist and slams it down on the sink in a blind rage.
A bright light swirled in front of her, making her squint in amazement at the glowing pulse of red energy. Fear and disgust filled the face that reflected back at her from the mirror. Her face. The face of Hayleigh Joy Trueheart.
"Hayleigh?" A tall girl, not much older than her, with flowing crimson hair asked. "Hayleigh?" She repeated, "Are you okay? I know what's going on and I can help you."
She spun around to face her in fear. "Who...Who are you? Stay away from me!" she backed further away and the girl slowly extended her hand as if she was trying to make a connection.
"Hayleigh, I want you to watch me for second, please."
Hayleigh mirrors her smile and nods, her gaze landing on the bracelet on her wrist, and as the girl focused on it, it slowly slid over her wrist, floating in the air. She lowered her hand and the bracelet followed the same swift movement landing in Hayleigh's upturned hands. Fear gripped her.
"How... how did you do that?" she stammered and the girl simply smiled.
"The same way you can with your gift. I woke up one morning with this ability to move things with my mind."
The rage began to bubble up inside. "NO! YOU DON'T KNOW ANYTHING, STAY AWAY FROM ME."
The door slammed behind her as she ran, her hair whipping at her back, tears falling freely down her cheeks.
"Why is she here?" She wonders as she sprints for the front doors, sparing a quick look behind her to make sure she's not following.
In that split second of distraction, two male figures appear in front of her. One of them have dark brown hair and wears red tinted glasses that look more like goggles, and a dark jumpsuit with a huge yellow 'X' on the front. He's tall and slender, unlike the other figure who is brawny and muscular. An orange and black mask covers his face matching the rest of his suit. She examines the area for an escape route but they have them covered.
"Kid, we are not going to hurt you." The brawny man said as he walked closer.
She can feel the sun beating down on her, creating a strange feeling inside and she falls to the ground in pain. The feeling quickly engulfs her, her skin flashing imitating the golden rays. They walked closer. She holds out her hand and the energy shoots straight toward the brawny man. The burst pushes her back against the wall and her hair whips around her. He flew backwards at the same time, out the doors and slamming into the black car that followed her earlier. She drops her hand away and the energy burst stops.
"Wolverine, are you okay?" The other figure shouted to the downed man.
"Yes" he gruffly replied, pulling himself to his feet and dusting off his suit.
She runs while they're distracted. Not stopping until she reaches the forest that borders the school.
Running through the forest and weaving in and out of the tall trees, the brush catches her clothes. The wind whips her hair about her face, stinging her cheeks as it lashes across her vision making her stumble, again, and again, but miraculously she keeps her feet under her as she flees from the dark figures. She can hear them behind her, but the sound of her ragged breathing and pounding heart soon drowns everything else out. She pauses behind a tree to catch her breath.
Wolverine and the other man pause to talk but they're too far away for her to hear. She leans closer into the trunk in an attempt to hide herself, daring to peek around it to check what they're doing. They've gone, vanished, and she breathes a sigh of relief.
Heavy breathing that wasn't her own met her ears and she slowly turned to face Wolverine just a few feet away.
"Kid, just stay where you are, we're not going to hurt you. Cyclops," He spoke to his wrist, into some sort of transmitter, "I've found her."
She let herself slide down the thick trunk, as the feeling came over her, the building of something inside her. Her hands began to tingle and glow, the energy emerging again. Wolverine's eyes widened as Cyclops appeared.
Guttural screams pour from her mouth leaving her throat raw as her feet leave the ground, moving higher and higher, taking her further away. Control of the flight is difficult but she's a fast learner and guides herself to the edge of the forest. The winds making her sway almost like a feather floating gently against the currents. I land roughly on a cliff edge looking over the turquoise sea and stands there looking down at the angry waves crashing against the rocks far beneath.
"I don't know what to do... where to go…" She sinks to her knees, closes her eyes and raises her face to the sky hoping for answers…
A loud whoosh breaks her thoughts as a black jet hovers in front of her. She scurries backwards away from it and the cliff, her back hitting something hard. She looks up to see Wolverine with a twisted smile and Cyclops to the left side. They each place a hand under her arm and lift her to her feet.
They hold her in place despite her struggles, letting her pull against them until she's too tired to thrash any more. They slowly release her. The black jet lowers to the ground and several people appear from within it. The crimson haired girl from the school bathroom and two younger looking girls, one with white pieces of hair framing her face and the other with brown hair in a ponytail, stepped forward. All wore similar uniforms as well, followed by an older woman with chocolate skin and snow white hair, she wore a silvery cape. Next is a guy with dark blue skin, his hands and feet look alien with only two fingers and a thumb on each, and a spaded tail following behind him. The dark skinned guy with blond hair is the last to emerge.
The Sun was blinding her and the feeling she had before is building again only stronger than she's ever felt it. Her body spasms and her head tilts backwards as she's slowly dragged up into the air towards the sun. The figures stare in amazement, as the light engulfs her...
Hayleigh rose into the air and a bright flash caused everyone to shield their eyes from the oncoming rays. The team exchange glances between one another as her appearance changes. The flash revealing the golden figure of Hayleigh, her hair flowing as if lights itself. The energy began to spread down her arms and legs transforming it to a shimmering gold, her hair seeming to absorb the golden colour.
Her eyes shot open to face them, her hand lowering to fire a burst of energy at Nightcrawler and ShadowCat. ShadowCat quickly phrased through it, Nightcrawler teleported beside Cyclops.
"What is her problem?" Nightcrawler commented as she created a shield around herself.
"Wolverine, what's the plan?" Jean questioned as Spyke shot his spikes at her trying to break through her shield, but failing to make it crack.
"The Kid is confused. Let's break the shield first, Nightcrawler teleport Rogue close enough to absorb her power." Wolverine yelled as he reflected the rays with his claws.
Storm began to create a thunderstorm, directing the lightning bolts at the shield. Cyclops fired his lasers. Independently they did nothing to it but combined the shield broke. Jean levitated opposite her, trying to prod her mind and failing. Charles Xavier pushed his wheelchair to the doorway of the jet and placed his fingers on his temples.
"Jean, let's do this together." He speaks in her mind.
They projected themselves with her mind, trying to calm her down. Wolverine nodded at Nightcrawler and Rogue, she removed her glove and Nightcrawler teleported them behind Hayleigh. He wrapped his arms around her waist, while Rogue placed her hand on Hayleigh's head. They both flinched in pain until she removed her hand and Hayleigh began flashing in and out of the golden form.
Nightcrawler extended his hand but didn't reach Hayleigh in time as she fell from the sky into the sea. Wolverine ran off the Cliff, diving in after her. Bubbles hissed from her body as the power dispersed and she returned to human form under the water. He reached for her wrist fighting against the oncoming current. Snagging it, he broke the surface, panting heavily, and scooped Hayleigh's lifeless form into his arms. Jean levitated them up to the cliff top, the water dripping from them.
The x-men crowded around her as Wolverine walked aboard the X-jet and placed her on the medical table.
Charles Xavier appeared beside him placing his hand on her head. "She is powerful. You may want to place the restraints on her for the time being."
"Right Chuck," Wolverine replied as he pressed the button to engage the restraints on her wrists and ankles.
The rest of the X-men took their seats as the X-jet began to take off into the skies. ShadowCat broke the silence, "So, like what are we going to do now?"
"Well we'll see if she wants our help, though if she refuses, she'll be a danger to everyone around her."
Cyclops turned in his seat to face the others, "She will remain in our care until she's fit enough to make that decision. Jean, would you go check on her please?"
Jean nodded as she unbuckled her seatbelt and walked to the back of the Jet. Kitty dissolved through the door, appearing beside her. "She seems peaceful now she's asleep." Kitty commented looking at her still form.
"Yeah, we seemed to be making a connection until I showed her my power" Jean said in a sad tone.
Hayleigh began to toss and turn, her eyes snapped open as she became more aware of her surroundings. She trashed and struggled against the restraints as Jean and Kitty tried to comfort her.
Her hair began to change to again, taking on the golden blonde highlights, and her eyes began to glow. Storm stared at the girl with concern as she placed the needle into her arm and Hayleigh returned to peaceful sleep.
The X-jet disappeared, flying high into the sky, beyond sight of the shadowy figure that watched with interest from the edge of the forest...