Sorry guys, I meant to post this sooner, but there was a huge power outage around the city and the internet connection was down. No big deal, though. Here it is, hope you all enjoy!
It was only after the man called Charles helped Erik up from the floor and asked her to sit down that Laurien seemed to fully comprehend what had just happened. The two men that she had seen on the street were now standing in her apartment, acting like it was an ordinary everyday thing that they did, popping unexpectedly into people's lives like that. She couldn't help but feel profoundly disturbed by the whole situation, and apparently it showed, as the color of her eyes switched to a fragile shade of ice.
"There's no need to be frightened." Charles said gently, as he sat down across from where she'd seated herself tentatively on the edge of the overturned couch. "We mean you no harm, we only wanted to talk with you."
Laurien waited until the woman had left to make a phone call before starting to ask her questions. "How did you get in here?" She asked quietly, her eyesight still blurred around the edges from smacking her head again.
Charles glanced over at Erik where he sat on the bed holding his nose with a rapidly reddening cloth, and turned back to her, that little grin still displayed on his kind face. "Erik here has a certain way with metal, meaning that the bolt on your door was of little consequence to us."
"So, you broke in." She prompted flatly, raising an eyebrow.
Charles cleared his throat guiltily. "Uh, well, strictly speaking… I suppose so."
"And you don't see anything wrong with that, just barging into a lady's apartment?"
"We did knock."
Laurien felt a slight tug of amusement on the corner of her mouth despite her grievances, but kept any further chiding to herself as Charles continued.
"In our defense, if we hadn't broken in, you might have been worse off than you are now, you gave us a right scare when we came in to see you unconscious on the floor."
Suddenly recalling her previously forgotten injury, Laurien lifted her hand to the back of her head and felt the unmistakable ripple of broken skin and matted hair where the blood had partially dried. She winced when she touched it, pain sparking along her scalp. Her eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she realized it was still bleeding sluggishly. How long had she been unconscious? She checked the small watch on her wrist, but quickly abandoned her attempt when she realized that the hands had long-since ceased their movements, miserably broken. She glanced to the fogged up window, only to see a dark and gloomy night as the view stretched over a thundercloud plagued city. Shit, she'd been unconscious for hours.
"Point taken." She sighed.
"It was smart of you, not going to the hospital." A low voice across the room grumbled. Laurien's head snapped up towards where the other man, Erik, had removed the handkerchief from his face to reveal a faintly stained upper lip as the bleeding had stopped. His blue eyes seemed to unmistakably darken as they made contact with hers.
"Sorry?" She inquired.
"The one thing the authorities look for after an accident's occurred and they know the mutant's injured, they'll look to the nearest hospital and snatch them before shipping them off, like animals in cages. Much safer to quickly disappear and deal with the injuries in private."
She frowned, and unfortunately she understood very clearly what he meant, but she decided to avoid the upsetting subject altogether and focus on other things. "Mutants? You mean people like us?"
"That is the technical term, yes." Charles explained, rising from his chair to pace the room as he spoke. "Homo superior. Those of us who have what is called the X-Gene, causing variable results of physical or mental mutation, and you, Laurien, are a rare beauty, having one of each."
He glanced at his friend. "Erik's mutation is the skill of metal manipulation, meaning that any metal element can bend to his will. That's how he was able to pull you away from the car, with the metal of your belt buckle."
Laurien automatically glanced down to see that the shiny loop of her belt had a large indent marring the smooth touch of the stainless steel. As she unconsciously pulled the strap to tighten it, a dull twinge blossomed from her stomach. Losing all notice for the two gentlemen in the room, she lifted her maroon shirt from her abdomen to see a thin purple line spreading around her middle.
Laurien couldn't help but stifle a giggle, of all the funny shaped marks she'd accumulated over her lifetime; this one had by far the most interesting story, even better than the Famous Flying Frog Fiasco with Bastijn back in Alkmaar.
At the sight of the bruise, Erik's eyes softened. "Sorry, did I hurt you?"
"Oh, no. It's fine. I've had much worse, believe me." She stated, lowering her shirt back down quickly, blushing as she abruptly realized what she'd done. Her mother would've been ashamed of her, showing her midriff to two strange men she hardly knew, it was simply appalling. The thought of her mother's voice reaching the high-pitch of exasperation as she lectured her brought a small smile to Laurien's face, though all too soon, it disappeared.
Charles suddenly turned back around towards the other man. "Erik, would you be so kind as to get one of the towels from the bathroom please. I believe it would be best to apply some pressure to Laurien's head wound before patching her up." He then spun back to her. "Are you all right with that?"
Her gaze flickered over to Erik somewhat uncertainly, but she gave a small nod, and Erik immediately disappeared into the bathroom, leaving Charles to continue his lecture.
"Your own power, you see has a mental and a physical aspect. The physical part of your mutation allows you to display your emotion through the changing pigmentation of you eyes. What I could only specify as being called emotionally-manipulated discoloration of the iris."
"Exceptional." Erik murmured to her left as he returned with the towel. Laurien could feel her cheeks reddening from the comment but she managed to keep her face serious with much difficulty. "Are you all right if I touch you?" He asked, referring to her head. She nodded, not feeling much up for talking anymore, though instantly regretting it as her head was engulfed in an agonizing throb at the movement.
He gently placed the towel over the cut and held his other hand against Laurien's forehead in an effort to apply pressure. His skin felt cool against her own, and oddly relaxing, giving off the same effect that the tile flooring in the bathroom had done for her earlier. Suddenly feeling self conscious of her every move, she tried to distract herself from the close proximity of the man next to her with Charles' continuing explanation.
"The mental component of your mutation is your telekinesis, moving things about with your mind, as it was. Very handy should you forget to grab something from upstairs or you want to simultaneously finish all your household chores in a jiffy. But you can do so much more than that, you know? If you continue to strengthen your bond with your powers and harness your concentration, you might soon find you can do things that you could previously only imagine,"
"You see, Laurien." He said, voice steady with confidence as he sat back down across from her. "That is what we are trying to accomplish. We've been traveling across the country, Erik and I, searching for mutants just like you, with powers that have so much potential. Our goal is for you to reach your highest potential with help from our tutelage, so you can use and control your powers safely and responsibly in a secure and nurturing environment."
As he finished speaking, Laurien couldn't help feeling a bit skeptical of the whole deal, despite the intoxicating enthusiasm in the man's manner of speaking that sent a thrill through her. It sounded too good to be true. She was well aware of the possibility of it being a trap, some distorted trick, sending two mutants to lure in others of their own kind for the benefit of the government's sick experiments.
"How do I know that I can trust you, truly?" She inquired cautiously, feeling the hair on the back of her neck stand up at the implications lying behind her question.
"You can't." Erik's low grumble of a voice made her jump as she had forgotten that he was there, despite the pressure of his hands bracing her head. "You'll just have to trust our word, or take a leap of faith if you prefer."
Charles gave his companion a quick glance of something Laurien couldn't quite make out before leaning towards her, his smile disappearing and his eyes suddenly becoming serious. "I have seen your past, Laurien. I have seen and felt the pain and suffering that you've endured over the years: First the fire and your parents, then your siblings, Roosje and Bastijn. I know how you felt about leaving them."
Laurien stiffened at the mention of Roosje and Bastijn, the hot sensation of anger rising in her chest as her eyes flashed red, causing her words to blurt out in a stiff growl. "And who gave you permission to go messing around inside my head, huh?" She asked, suddenly brushing off Erik's hands and getting to her feet. "That was some trick you pulled there on the street. I might not know much about your powers but I sure as hell know that they were my memories, my secrets, and you had no right to see any of them without my consent."
Charles looked down at his hands, frowning. "Yes, I do apologize. That was misguided of me, I meant nothing by it, it's just that," He sighed, his face turning unexpectedly dark. "Rarely have I ever met anyone with that much loss, that much pain in their head before, my powers just latched on, I couldn't stop–" His voice broke and faded away, and at the same time Laurien felt her anger rapidly do the same. "I am truly sorry, Laurien."
She kept her rapidly changing eyes stationed on him, suddenly feeling terrible for lashing out at him. She wondered if she should say something reassuring or crack a joke, but then she quickly remembered that she had a terrible sense of humor and so, consequentially, she kept her mouth shut. She could see Erik shifting beside her out of the corner of her eye as Charles ran a hand through his hair. After a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he finally gazed back up at her with grief filled eyes, and Laurien found, to her surprise, that she couldn't look away.
"I know you have no reason to trust us in any way, I know that. But I believe that if you come with us and meet the others, you will find what you have been searching for all these years. It may not make up for your loss, but please believe me that we only want to help you."
Narrowing her eyes, she considered this. There was nothing for her in New York City; she'd known it from the moment she set foot in its streets. She knew no one besides Oliver and the swine downstairs, and she was utterly unhappy. She was tired of feeling like an outsider everywhere she went, tired of looking over her shoulder as she walked down the street. Ultimately, she just felt so God damned exhausted all the time. Given these reasons, there seemed no other option but the one that was laid out before her, even if it may lead to ruin.
On that note, she took a deep breath and turned towards Erik, fierce determination sparking in her shifting eyes as she stared into his own unflinchingly. "A leap of faith?"
He raised a questioning eyebrow before it dawned on him and his face cleared of all confusion into an expression of approval. Laurien turned to Charles, feeling her conviction grow as she said the words that set off the chain reaction that would change her life forever.
"I'm in."
Shorter chapter this time, but I promise that there is more to come! Hope you all enjoyed, please review!