Memories
The Girl with Brown Eyes
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The alarms sounded, blaring through the city. The preshocks were already shaking the delicate, ancient streets. In a graceful, traditional family mansion in the rich side of town, the girl ran desperate through the rooms, trying to find her family. Her father grabbed her arms and squeezed, a little too tightly so she yelped. His eyes were steely, masking his fear. But that didn't help, because it just made her more afraid.
"Akira, you must come! The quake is strong!"
His barked instructions only made her more afraid and then suddenly she started shaking, her whole body stiffened and she stumbled. Her father simply picked her up and began to carry her to the garage, to get her to the relative safety of inland.
And then she stopped shaking. And when she opened her big brown eyes, they were alight. She slowly pulled herself out of her father's arms and began to walk towards the door, to the shaking streets.
"Akira!"
For the first time in her life, she ignored him. She stood there in the street, totally still, her hands clasped in fists, arms rigid by her side. And then she raised her arms. She looked as if she was reaching out for something her father; standing in the doorframe, angrily screaming her name; couldn't see. And then she was immersed in a rainbow, light flaring from her clenched hands which opened, lightshow blazing and the tremors stopped. She turned to face him and he withdrew from the unearthly face that stared back at him, a girl he no longer recognised. A powerful, dangerous child who smiled weakly.
"Did I do it, Father?"
And she slumped forward, would have crashed face first into the tarmac if her father hadn't leapt forward in time to catch his daughter. His mutant daughter.
"Is that… No way!"
"The most powerful non-psionic mutant ever born? Or one of the most intelligent humans of her generation?"
"Logan, we need you."
"What's wrong?"
"We've just had a phonecall from Kyoto."
Logan slowly got up, wondering who on earth he knew was in Kyoto. He managed to make it to Hank's office without giving into the temptation to look at Tora's photo, still up in its position on the staff identification wall.
"Who is it?"
"I'm not too sure. His English isn't the best."
Logan took the phone. Introduced himself in Japanese. And then listened with increasing amazement to the story he was being told. Finally he put the phone down.
"Get the Blackbird ready. NOW!"
Hank frowned.
"Why?"
"There was going to be an earthquake. A big one. And a ten-year-old girl just stopped it."
Hank swore and hit the alert button.
Silence reigned. Then Phoenix slowly let out the breath she had been holding in the form of a long whistle.
"Well, that's us told."
The girl was still in her school uniform, quivering as she sat under the shock blanket, staring up at them. Logan found her large brown eyes and her fixed gaze quite disconcerting.
"Hello, Akira. My name is Logan."
She blinked. Shivered again. She still hadn't answered any of his questions. Hadn't even spoken yet. But then she was an odd child. Especially her name. Strictly speaking, it was unisex but it was a much more common boy's name than a girl's. Then a quiet little voice spoke.
"What am I, Logan-san?"
He smiled slightly.
"We think you're a mutant with electromagnetic powers. Do you know what that means?"
She slowly nodded.
"I am not stupid, Logan-san. I do know what the electromagnetic spectrum is. I know how photoelectrons can cause an electric current, which causes a magnetic field."
Logan glanced up at Hank, who was listening in and quickly fired off her response in English. Hank nodded.
"She's a genius, Logan. Sitting Physics and Maths courses much too advanced for her age."
Logan looked back.
"Your father wants you to come to our school. For people like you and me. People with gifts."
Akira hunched up.
"I like school. I like learning new things."
Logan translated to Hank, who leant forward.
"Tell her we sometimes get Professor Richards in to lecture."
"But we don't."
"We'll have to, if she's at the school."
Logan repeated Hank's offer and Akira's whole face changed. It light up, something in her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Dr Richards! The Dr Richards?"
"Reed Richards. Mr Fantastic. Stretch. Whatever you want to call him. My son calls him Uncle Reed. Or Stupid, depending on whether he's with Valeria or not. I think you'd like Jamie and Valeria."
Akira looked torn.
"I cannot leave my family, Logan-san…"
"Your father thinks it is for the best that you come to the school. We can teach you to control your gifts."
She blinked and he was suddenly aware that for all her intelligence, she was just a little girl who was scared and afraid. Just like another little girl he knew…
"How about this, Akira? I'll call another student to come and talk to you. She's a bit older than you, but I think you'll find that for her, going to the school was an even bigger step."
Akira slowly nodded. Logan got up and looked at Hank.
"Call Pixie. Tell her I want Zillah here in ten minutes.
"Why on earth would you let Zillah talk to Akira? They were totally different!"
"No… Not totally."
The sight of the black-winged, black-furred, silver-haired teenager seemed to frighten Akira even more. At least until Zillah spoke, softly, almost tenderly.
"I know how you feel. I felt just the same, when Logan asked me to leave. I'd grown up alone. No one except my mother. And suddenly he wanted me to go out into the big wide world. I didn't feel ready. I was scared and alone and I suddenly had to come to terms with the fact my mother was dead. You feel like you've jumped into the sea for a swim but you didn't realise how deep it was or how strong the current is. You feel like you're being swept away, and you're trying to grab hold of the old, the familiar, the comfortable. Anything to prevent you drowning."
Akira looked up and meekly nodded. Zillah sat down next to her.
"And at least you know your family are still safe here and you can come and visit them any time. I just had my mother. You know, she left when I was ten and she never came back. I only just found out that she had died. But I grew up thinking the one person who mattered most to me had just abandoned me."
Akira blinked.
"Why did she die?"
"She was very ill. And so she chose to die to stop anyone else dying from that illness."
Zillah's voice cracked. Akira rested a hand on her arm.
"What was she called?"
Zillah turned her silver eyes to Akira's brown ones.
"Etana. Her name was Etana. That's… That's why my name is Zillah Bat Etana. Zillah…Daughter of…Etana…"
And suddenly she was crying, burying her face in her hands as she gulped for air and Akira quietly put one arm around Zillah. They sat like that for almost half an hour.
"I see what you mean now. They were both broken, in ways too deep to comprehend."