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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 3, 2009 3:37:58 GMT -7
Laying on my bed, I was listening to my iPod, drowning out the sound of my mother and her new boyfriend fighting. It was all verbal shit, but still, I hated it. Soon though, they would stop fighting and you know the term kiss and make up? More like fuck and make up. It was their mantra, and god knows how many times I swear they get into fights just for the aftermath. It made me sick. After that, it would be work, which meant more sex and more drugs and more of the downward spiral. I really didn't want to do that, it was my mothers fault for pushing me into it, and at that stage I didn't have a choice. "Fuck this." Kicking the window and breaking it, knowing the sound wouldn't register, I slipped out, scrabbling the last of the broken glass onto the grass before taking off. My agility was far superb, but this time I didn't get too far, feeling a cold hand snap around my wrist. "Going somewhere?" My mothers boyfriends best mate, a shady guy who dealt drugs and hasn't been caught yet. Mostly cos everyone was shit scared of him. Me included.
"Yes, away from you." I snapped, kicking backwards and as he let go, my feet stumbled forwards before taking off. Darting down roads and alleyways, I was soon into the main area, pausing for breathe when something seemed to jump at me, a dog barking, my hands shot up exploding the concrete behind the dog and people stopped to stare, my defenses were up and as soon as I saw the cop coming, I was off again, him chasing me. "You don't want me." I called backwards, not wanting to get caught and sent back to my mother. Interrupting her sex time meant severe punishment. Thankfully my stamina outran the cop, and he slowed down as I was still running, not paying attention when I bumped into someone, fear shot through my limbs as my hands raised again. "No, don't wanna go there." I looked at the ground, mumbling incoherent words in latin, something I did when too freaked out.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 3, 2009 4:48:32 GMT -7
Jesse intercepted a transmission from the GSA and alerted Adam. Brennan and I were training, so we ran over to see what was going on. "You're looking a little out of breath there Brennan. Shalimar running you ragged again?" Jesse joked. "Not even. I almost had her." Brennan replied. I laughed, slapping Brennan on the back lightly. "No way, he's a champ though. So what's up?" I looked at the screen as Adam and Emma joined us. "The GSA is after a mutant named Niki Abernathy. Now, she's not a new mutant, but was born with certain characteristics and abilities that would classify her as such." I looked closely at her picture. "Is she feral? Look at that." She had claws, fangs, and her ears even looked slightly tipped. If I didn't know better, or if her eyes were glowing, I'd say she was definitely feral. "No, she's not a feral. Remember she was born with these characteristics. She's not a child of Genomex." I shrugged. "So what's her power?" "She can control and manipulate moleclues to the point of combustion." I hated it when Adam got all technical. "Ok, so in other words, she blows stuff up." Adam nodded. "Exactly. No telling what Eckhart will do with her if the find her." "Then we need to find her first. I'm on it."
I'm not one to sit still for long, I hate being cooped up. Anything that gets me up and moving is a plus. If I get to kick a little bad guy ass while I'm at it, then bonus. I took the Double Helix to the coordinates Jesse had given me. I arrived just in time to see a Niki bolt out her window and take off. "Looks like she's leaving home guys. I'm parking the Helix and pursuing on foot." I got Emma over the com. "Keep in touch, Shal, and be careful." I grinned as I landed the Helix, keeping it in stealth mode and prepared to get off. "You know me, Em." I followed Niki's trail, moving to the rooftops as soon as I was able. With my feral sight, it was easier to see further the higher up I got. From here I had a great view of the city, and found Niki failry quickly. She was running now, really running, not just getting out. A police officer had followed, but she was faster, and soon she'd outrun him. "That's why I don't live on coffee and doughnuts." I joked to myself as I jumped to another roof.
She'd made it to a semi-secluded area, and as I was about to jump down and introduce myself, she ran smack into a GSA agent. Two more were coming at her from behind. "Miss Abernathy. You are to come with us." He reached for her as the others behind closed in. I dropped down smoothly, grabbed the GSA agent's wrist, twisted, kicked him hard in the stomach and sent him flying into a wall. "Sorry boys, Niki's got an appointment with me instead." I smiled at Niki, then rushed the other to agents still standing. A fist came at me, I dodged, leaning back, then jumped up. I swung both feet out, kicking each agent under the jaw and landed easy. "Come on, we've got to get out of here before they get up. These guys don't like taking no for an answer. And where there's one, there's bound to be more." I started running, Niki beside me as the agents began to get up.
They were on our tail but Niki and I were faster, and we'd had a little bit of a head start. As we neared the Double Helix I uncloaked it and ran for the ramp. 6 more agents came at us from the other direction. "Get on, I'll get you somewhere safe." A few pulled guns, the others still running for us. We boarded the Helix, I lifted off immediately, and cloaked us again. I could hear the guns firing up at us, but they couldn't see their target now. Man, was Eckhart going to be pissed! I hit my comlink. "Adam, I've got her. We got sidelined by GSA agents, but we made it out. We'll be at Sanctuary in 20 minutes." I turned around, the Helix on autopilot back to Sanctuary, and smiled to Niki. "Niki, I'm Shalimar. Sorry I didn't introduce myself sooner, but the GSA aren't known for giving time for girl talk."
((Color/speech codes: Jesse, Brennan, Adam, Emma, GSA goons))
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 3, 2009 23:19:13 GMT -7
Hearing the words, a snort triggered from my body as I began to laugh. "I don't think so." Stepping back and growling, a primal instinct sounding growl, something dropped from the skies, grabbing the guys wrist. "And who the fuck are you?" I snarled, looking at the female who was the one that dropped from the sky, wanting to know who before I went with her, but that was apparantely not an option. After some smooth moves, hearing her words my eyes rolled, did I care much? before following, my movements like liquid, easily matching the others girls pace, still wanting to know a name because quite frankly, I felt set up. Something what my mother would do, another involuntary snarl escaped my jaw just thinking about it, muscles coiled and ready to fire, to spring into action. Yet it was either go with this woman or go with those guys, and I wasn't going with any guys, so the woman seemed the best best, although my defenses were up.
Jumping, I didn't know what to expect, using instinct to guide me, shutting my eyes as I heard gunfire but it didn't hit us. At least the girl answered my earlier question. "I don't care. Who the hell is Adam, what the fuck is Sanctuary? I should get home not frolic around, my mother is going to kill me." I was going to make her lose out on business and for that, it was punishment worse than death. "I'm not going to get into trouble, not again, so either take me back or-" Or what? What could I say that would help my case? This woman was older than me, probably more powerful, but was she immune to being blown up? Curious thoughts these, I was itching to see for myself. It sure beat rape and beatings anyway. "I will hurt you, you understand that right? I'm not above hurting, I have to get back." Did Shalimar not understand the importance? Yes, I wanted out of that place, but like this, my mother and everyone else would beat me into submission, it happened before and I knew it would happen again.
I half wished my father was still alive, he tried to save me but I accidentally killed him. "Fine, lets go to this Sanctuary, but you have to be prepared to deal with the consequences." I half growled, in no mood to be overly nice, right now I was in a bad mood, and it would only get worse. Shalimar picked a real bad time to meet me, and I personally didn't care what she thought. Life was hard, and strict at times, I had to follow the rules or be punished. Hell, even when I followed rules I would still be punished. All depended on my mothers mood, not to mention what her current boyfriend was feeling at the time. Didn't help that my mother let them do whatever they wanted, when they wanted. Scanning around for something to talk about, I found nothing, so entertained myself by falling silent and let thoughts run through my head a mile a minute, letting daydreams take over for the time being. Daydreams were certainly better than real life, I wasn't ashamed to admit that.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 4, 2009 0:14:13 GMT -7
I kept my mouth shut while Niki ranted, letting her blow off some steam. It was difficult, I'm usually one to speak my mind, but after she'd talked herself out, it was my turn. I turned back around from the console and faced her. "Sanctuary is our home, Adam is our leader. I work with Mutant X. Those guys back there? GSA agents. They work for Genomex. You could have gone with them and be used as Eckhart's mutant puppet, or locked in a stasis pod. Somehow I think that wouldn't fit in with your plans. I can take you back, but I gaurantee the GSA are already at your house. And as far as you hurting me...." I let my eyes turn feral, glowing a fierce yellow-gold. "I fight back." My eyes faded back to brown and I smiled. "Trust me, Sanctuary is a lot better than Genomex. We want to help you Niki, Eckhart doesn't have the same agenda. I'll let Adam explain more to you back at Sanctuary. But before we get there, you're going to have to wear this. For your security and ours." I held up a small round patch. "It will render you blind while it's on. We use them to keep Sanctuary's location a secret. You can put it on yourself, or I can put it on for you." I held it out to her. "It goes here." I touched my temple. "You don't have to apply it yet, but soon."
I leaned back in the chair. "Look, Niki, I know that wasn't the best way to introduce myself. But I can be your friend, if you let me. We only want what's best for you. Eckhart and Genomex will either use you and then throw you away like yesterday's garbage, or lock you in stasis until they decide to experiment on you. I'm a feral, a mutant, like you. My friends can help you, and keep you safe." I leaned forward, closer to her. "You've been used before, and I can tell it's not your nature. You want to be free to live your life the way you want. Without having to be under someone's thumb." I narrowed my eyes, not judging her, but trying to see deeper into her. I'm not a psionic like Emma, but I have great instincts. "Was it your mom? The one making you...you know?" I couldn't bring myself to say that she was prostetuting herself. Her father was listed as deceased, and she was in the care of her mother and suedo-step-father. Everything that Genomex had on Niki, we did too now, thanks to Jesse intercepting the transmission earlier.
I looked out the Double Helix's window, and saw that we were nearing Sanctuary. "The blinder, Niki. We're almost there." I punched a few buttons on the console then used a voice command on the computer. "Uncloak." We were visible in the sky again. "In just a few minutes, you'll meet Adam and the rest of Mutant X, and we can answer some of your questions."
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 4, 2009 0:33:19 GMT -7
"So, your the good guys huh?" I wanted to sneer, but the energy to sneer was gone, so my voice was normal, not hostile or anything, which was unusual so quickly after meeting someone I didn't know. "As long as they take care of them so I don't have to see them." I muttered bitterly, watching with interest as her eyes went golden, I had to admit, that was cool. I wanted to ask another question, but something different overrode my initial question, replaced with my more familiar, hostile vocals. "Why do you guys want to help huh? You don't know me." I never had anyone to look out for me, help me, the only one who did wound up dead so it was new territory and I felt way over my head. "You don't know me." I repeated, softer this time, taking the patch from her, hating the fact soon I would be blind for a moment(hey, I liked seeing) and going into new depths. I kinda began to half wish I was still at home, at least I wouldn't be so confused with thoughts and emotions that I couldn't barely grab a hold onto. Yes I was volatile, but mostly I could snap out of something and take control, but now? Now I was being overwhelmed and it scared me.
"I don't need anyone. They only hurt you in the end. They may have good intentions at the beginning, but that soon changes." Warily I looked at Shalimar, trying to decide if she was being truthful, or lying to gain my trust, and you know what? I couldn't tell, which irritated me. "I'm used to being used-" My words cut off, eyes narrowed as I stared at her, my breathing becoming rapid with my anger becoming a real issue. "Don't you dare judge me. Don't think for a second you know what its like!" My voice was laced with fury which happened when I got too defensive. "I never wanted to, I had no choice." Shaking my head, I stared at the ground, trying to grab my emotions under control, which was difficult, really difficult. "It was her. My mother. I had no choice." I repeated, hating each word that was coming from my mouth. I wanted to be alone now, to think things through, but somehow I guessed that wouldn't happen for a while yet, so it was time to suck it up and get over it. I could do that. Right? Yea, and pigs can play the violin. I wanted to snicker but held onto that impulse. It would seem totally strange and out of place, and then probably questions about what I was thinking and I didn't want to go into detail, my mind was my own private sanctuary, no one was allowed in, certainly not a new face I had only just met. Recipe for disaster unless I was certain she was telling the truth.
"It better not be too long before I can see again." I placed the patch on my temple, my vision dimming before blackness, it lived up to its name. I was blind and it took all my self control to not scream and freak out and rip the patch off. "Yea, well, lets just get there first okay?" I tapped my foot, taking deep breathes to keep calm. Being used to having all senses, now one of my main senses was gone, and truly, I felt lost, and panicky. Silently I counted in my head, a sure way of staying calm.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 4, 2009 2:47:18 GMT -7
I smirked as the Double Helix entered the mountain side that was also Sanctuary Headquarters. "Just a couple more seconds and you can see again." We landed, and I helped Niki up. "Just follow me, keep hold of my arm." We walked down the steps of the Helix, and through the hangar into Sanctuary proper. I reached over and peeled the little patch from her temple, allowing her to see again. We stood in the main hall, the waterfall to our left up ahead, and the pool of water it flowed into filled with floating candles. Plants were everywhere. Sanctuary truly was beautiful. "Alright, we're here. What do you think?" I grinned at her.
Adam walked around the corner from the lab. "Shalimar." He greeted me smiling, then turned his attention to Niki, still smiling, and held out his hand to her. "Niki, welcome to Sanctuary. I'm Adam. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for us, and I'll do my best to answer them. Would you follow me into the lab?" I looked back at Niki, still smiling myself. "Come on. We'll met Emma & Jesse too. Where's Brennan?" I directed the last to Adam. "He took the Mustang to Niki's, trying to intercept any GSA agents that are headed there." I nodded, half wishing I was with him.
Jesse and Emma were both at computers in the lab. I grinned to both of them. "Hey guys!" Emma turned around and smiled, then greeted Niki, just as Jesse did. "Hey Shal. Hi Niki, I'm Emma." Emma waved, while Jesse stood up and walked over to shake Niki's hand. "It's nice to meet you Niki, I'm Jesse." Uh oh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say that Jesse was checking Niki out. I gave him a teasing glare. I was extremely protective of my teammates. Our track records in past relationships weren't exactly golden. And regardless of how much information was in Niki's file, we didn't know her yet, and she didn't know us. Adam gestured to the chair in the center of the room. "Niki, have a seat. I'd live to get a scan of your DNA, to keep an eye on your mutation. Don't worry, it's painless." "He does it to us all, and he's right, there's no pain involved. Now's the time to ask us questions." I wanted to talk with her more, one on one, but I'd wait until Adam had his scan and sample of her DNA.
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 4, 2009 3:05:20 GMT -7
A couple more seconds? Uh huh, right, yea, I didn't believe her one bit until a few seconds later, we landed. Okay, so she was right, I'll give her credit for that. Fingers lightly gripped her arm, walking to god knows where, when the patch was finally removed and I could see. Blinking, I glanced around, trying to get a sense of my new surroundings, what I could use as a potential weapon if things went that way, of course I could blow stuff up, really, this place was too awesome to see it blow to smithereens, and I half doubted this place would succumb to my ability. Which yea, that was good and bad. "It's amazing." I knelt down, fingers touching the surface of the water, "its beautiful, but still, that doesn't mean I trust you. You can show me a million awesome or cool things and you won't be fully trusted yet." Snapping back into my tough attitude, I felt it was better to keep myself safe first, that meant pushing people away. Which yes, it did sound screwed up.
Hearing the voice, I stood up, defense adrenaline ran through my body, staring at the man named 'Adam' and my mouth opened in shock. "Your supposed to be dead. I blew you up, I saw-" Breaking off, I began to hyperventilate, something in my brain automatically assumed he was my father, he looked like him, or maybe that was because I was so young and this man was the only one that seemed to emanate paternal instinct from him, I could feel it. "Dad? no, it can't be." I spun around, facing Shalimar. "Why did you bring me here?" I snarled both hurt and scared, before I followed silently into the lab. Jeez, whenever I was hurt, scared, whatever, I got snarly. Must warn them about that sometime. "He may not make it you know. You interrupt my mother and her boyfriend screwing, then it normally means a hellbent woman on the warpath." I added, shaking my head. I didn't want to go back, but if this Brennan guy got hurt then I wouldn't feel too happy about that.
"You already seem to know my name, looks like we don't really need introducing." Did everyone here know who I was? Slightly waving to Emma and shaking Jesse' hand, I glanced at Adam who spoke. "If you know my name, then you probably know allot more than that." Pain, I wasn't new to it, everyday life brought pain, both emotionally, physically, and sexually too. So with that, I took a seat, staring at Shalimar. To me, it was her fault for bringing me here, I had already humiliated myself by calling Adam dad by mistake, something I could do without thank you very much, they were all treating me with such kindness, it wasn't something I was used too. In fact, because of my own life, paranoia would creep up in times like this, making me think they were just being nice to lower my defenses before hurting me. And you can't blame me for that now can you? "Do whatever you need, or want, to do." Resignation was clearly heard in my voice, eyes staring upwards, ignoring their stares.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 4, 2009 3:27:02 GMT -7
While Adam started the scan I stayed next to Niki. I could handle her snappiness, but I was damn close to snapping back at her. For Adam's sake, I kept myself in check. I just didn't know how much longer it would last. "Don't worry about Brennan, he can take care of himself." I smirked, thinking that if Niki's mom came after Brennan looking for a fight, she was in for the shock of her life, literally. "I brought you here so you'd be safe, instead of letting Genomex get their hands on you." Adam spoke, still facing a terminal as overhead, a machine lit up and rainbow lights scanned over Niki's form. "Genomex keeps files all on new mutants. We intercepted a transmission from them sending GSA agents for your capture. From there, we traced your profile. We know you're a molecular. You can manipulate molecules into combustion. You also seem to carry traits of feral DNA, the claws, fangs, and ears. But I'm not seeing a feral strand in your DNA." Adam turned back to her with a slightly confused look. "What does that mean?" Adam sighed. "Well, I'm not exactly sure what it means. Jesse and I will look into it. Emma, if you could analyze the blood sample and see if you can find anything that matches that DNA strand. Shalimar, why don't you help Niki feel more comfortable here?" "Yeah sure, give them the easy jobs."
I looked at Niki, less than thrilled to be stuck with her attitude for much longer. I didn't feel like being blown up today, but at least she didn't spit fire. Bitchiness I can handle, so long as I kept my own temper in check. "Let's go check out the place." I didn't expect her to trust me, or any of us, but I was glad she liked Sanctuary. "Adam built this place from the ground up." We wandered back down the hall, walking alongside the waterway. "It's peaceful, isn't it?" I sat down on the large, square bench that was surrounded by a small stream of water before it branched of too the larger pond. "Look, I know you're not thrilled to be here. I know you don't trust us. I'm just asking you to try. We're not going to hurt you, or lock you up in stasis, or use you. So you can cut back on the attitude, ok?"
Brennan walked in just about then, catching the tail end of my sentence. "Whoa, easy Shal. Who ruffled your fur?" He laughed, even as I glared at him. "Hey, you must be Niki. I'm Brennan. Just got back from your house. I gotta say, you're mom's a real piece of work." He leaned back against one of the columns that rested at intervals along the waterway. "Brennan! That's so mean. How would you like it if I talked about your mother that way?" He threw his arms up in mock surrender. "Hey, I'm just saying. Any woman who's going to pull a shotgun on me deserves to get a jump start." He drew lightning into his hand, letting the sparks trickle between his fingers before cutting it off. I turned back to Niki. "Brennan's an elemental. I'm a feral. Jesse's a molecular, like you, and Emma's psionic. That's Mutant X for you."
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 4, 2009 4:06:54 GMT -7
I was glad they didn't say anything on the slip of the tongue thing, allowing myself to relax slightly, yet my ears were open so I could hear what they were saying, in case I was needed to answer any questions. "Wow, wait, how did they get information on me in the first-" It dawned on me then. "Son of a bitch." Betrayal from my own family, it wouldn't surprise me if my mother said something, or dated some freak that reported back to these guys or whatever. "It mans Shalimar, I'm one of a kind right?" I arched my eyes, trying to lighten the situation while my heart still pounded, another question was on my tongue, ready to be spat into the air, yet I was scared of the answer. "Wait! I know you guys wanna do whatever it is you want to do." I spared a glance at Shalimar, swallowing the lump that formed in my throat. "Do you, maybe, have any information on-" I took a deep breathe. "My father? My real father, not they psycho nut thats with her now."
"Fine." Standing up, I moved quickly, not trusting myself to speak much longer. "He did a good job." I mumbled, meaning the words. Truth be told, I loved it here. "It is peaceful. Makes me thinks there hope." I left the sentence to hang, sitting down and dipping my hands into the stream, feeling the gentle water trickle through my fingers. Closing my eyes, I allowed no emotion to pass over as I listened to Shalimar speak. About to reply, some other voice cut me off, glancing around I saw Brennan. He was, I don't know how to say it, like an older brother. I didn't crush on him or anything, but I felt such a strong, brotherly pull, I nearly stood up and walked over. Maybe it was because he was the kind of guy I thought of when I wished I had an older brother. "Yea, she is." Shooting a look over at Shalimar, I laughed. "Look, she is and I don't mind if anyone else says it. I don't blame Brennan." Looking back at him I spoke. "Never interrupt their activities, I learned that the hard way." My eyes darkened at the memory.
I was little, her boyfriend then was a man named Stan. He was pretty good, but when I had a nightmare and wet the bed, I walked in on them and my mother threw my into the wall before breaking three ribs and an arm. Stan left her after that so my mother got even more pissed and left me with a few guys named Winston and Alistair. I really don't wish to continue here. Shaking my head to get back to the present, I was aware I had been silent for a few minutes, yet I offered nothing in a way of an explanation. "You asked me to try and trust you right. Well answer me this. How can I try when all I've ever know is pain, hurt, betrayal huh?" I challenged, but the spark, the fire in my body was gone, instead I stayed slumped on the ground, staring at the floor. "I try, I never get very far. It's going to take a while okay?" That was the closet thing she would probably get to a compromise of sorts.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 4, 2009 4:39:31 GMT -7
I climbed off the bench and sat next to Niki on the floor. I reached for her hand and placed mine on top. "Niki. We're not asking you to trust us immediately. You just met us. But you can try, that's all we can ask of you. Thanks." I brushed back some of her hair. "None of us have had an easy life. But here, you'll be safe. And not just from Genomex." My instincts were rapid firing. "I'm sure we can help with your father too. I'll have Adam and Emma look into it, okay?" Brennan stepped up to the plate instead. "Naw, don't worry about it Shal, I got it. You two can do the girl bonding thing. Take it easy, Niki." I smiled to Brennan as he stood up and headed for the lab. I leaned forward a bit, so I could see Niki's eyes. "Hey, you okay?" I was concerned, and I let it show.
I wanted to hug her, all my motherly instincts kicking up. She'd called Adam dad, but I assumed it was a slip of the tongue. No doubt Adam would address it later, so I'd leave it alone for now. I half wanted Emma's psionic abilities, so that I could see what Niki was thinking. She'd been lost in thought a moment ago, and it didn't feel like she was reminising about good memories. "It's gonna be ok, you know. Somehow, things work out that way with us." I smiled softly, patting her hand.
Adam's voice came though the computer on the wall across from us. "Niki, Shalimar, we've located the DNA strand. It's a form of mutancy that's similar to feral DNA, like I thought. I'd like you to stick around Niki, I want to keep an eye on you to make sure your not still mutating. Shalimar can set you up in a room. Brennan's running a search for information about your father. Niki, welcome to Mutant X for the time being." I patted her hand again. "We're all still mutating. A few years ago, Emma could only see other's thoughts and send them telepathic messages or images. Now she can emit a psychic blast. Same with Jesse. He can phase through solid objects or mass out and be pretty much indestructable. Now he can phase objects as well as himself. We're all still changing, and there's no telling where it will stop, or when it will happen. Adam just likes to keep us all safe and healthy." I smiled again. Now that Niki wasn't so defensive, she was easier to talk to, and I found myself liking the girl. Ok, I'll admit, I liked her rough side too. Because it reminded me of myself. "Since we know an awful lot about you, what can I tell you about me?"
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 4, 2009 19:40:20 GMT -7
"Yea." I sniffed slightly, edging back a few inches when she sat down next to me, pushing strands of hair away from my face, feeling slightly more vulnerable than before, this was more intimate that being away from one another, the closeness was something I wasn't really used to, for their was no cruel words or actions, nothing to get my defenses up. "Okay. Thanks." There was nothing else I could say, I wasn't used to this and it was clearly evident. I hated being in situations that I couldn't control or that was overwhelming. "You too Brennan." I added, half glancing up before he left, feeling a stab of jealousy enter my system. They each had one another, each had comfort and love, and here I was trampling in on their territory. It was hard to get too upset over it though when Shalimar was the one who brought me here, it wasn't like I suddenly woke up and invited myself over. Not that I could anyway, I was blinded when I came so I had no idea where this place was.
"I don't know." I admitted on her question. Was I okay? I mean, this morning started out usual, and I was ready for a walk around to get away from the house, usual stuff. Then I run into some goons, get picked up by Shalimar, brought here, learned that these guys know a shit load about me, and they were kind and caring. Enough to make me run screaming and hiding because I wasn't used to it, part of me expected something bad to happen, and my senses were on high alert just in case. Learning from a young age, you could never be too careful. "Like things have ever been okay." Tempted to yank my hand away from hers, I didn't, instead I kept very still. "Look, I'll tell you one thing I already know about my father. Just so you can tell the others so they don't think I'll get upset. Hes dead, I know that. I was the one who accidentally killed him, but I want to know more." And I wanted to know why my mother never told him about me. If I knew who he was, then I wouldn't have blown him up.
"Thanks, I guess. Better here than somewhere else right?" I shrugged, standing up and not knowing if Adam could hear us. The thanks was for the welcome, my mind already accepting the news without too much trouble. "So I could still be changing? Great, that doesn't give me a happy feeling." I kinda envied the others, at least they couldn't blow up people they cared for when their emotions were running high, and it sounded cool to phase through walls and stuff! "Fair enough too." I added, that bit was a reply for the Adam liking to keep them safe and healthy. "Yea, how much do you know about me?" I wondered, thinking of any possible questions to ask Shalimar. "Alright then, when did first come to Mutant X? How did you feel about being more than human?" I was curious, we were similar in DNA with the feral thing. Well mine was similar to the feral thing, which was what Shalimar had. "Why do you still want to help even though you seem to know allot about me?"
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 5, 2009 2:27:49 GMT -7
I felt horrible for Niki when she told me she'd accidentally killed her father. The guilt she has to live with must be damn near unbearable. "Oh Niki. I'm so sorry." I didn't know what else to say. I smiled softly again. "Yeah, most definitely better here than Genomex." Didn't sound like her home life was all that great either. I nodded. "You could be. Being that you were born with your powers, there's no telling if you're still changing or not. That's why Adam wants to keep an eye on you. If some changes do occur, and if any are dangerous, he can do something to prevent it. Adam's definitely one of the good guys." The truth was that Adam was just about the greatest guy ever in my book. Sure he had his past, full of mistakes and regrets, things he'd like to have done differently. But he was a good man now, and that's what mattered. The difference he made in other's lives, my life, went above and beyond anything he'd done in his past.
I sat back and crossed my legs, dropping my hands onto my ankles as I got comfortable. "Well, we don't know everything about you, if that's what you're worried about. We only know what Genomex knows. Except for Emma, she might have gotten a read off you when we came in. She wouldn't be trying to pry or anything, just a general psychic glance to make sure you weren't an immediate danger to yourself or us. We know you're gifted. That you're a molecular, like Jesse. Where he can phase and mass, you can manipulate the molecules to the point of combustion. And apparently, you're also some sort of feral relative. I guess that makes us like half-sisters." I smirked, laughing a little. "We know your mother's name, your address, your height, weight, things like that. It's not much, but it's more than Genomex knows about you at this point. And personally, I'd like to get to know you better. You know, the real you, not just your statistics." This time my smile was completely genuine. She was opening up, and that made me more comfortable with her. Aside from the links we both had to the animal kingdom in our DNA, that is. Having that sort of commonality with another mutant always made me like them.
"Me? Jesse and I were the first ones Adam came to. The work he did at Genomex is what made us what we are today. When Adam realized what Genomex was really up to, he left, created Sanctuary and has done everything in his power to help new mutants, what he calls The Children of Genomex. He saved my life, really. He gave me a purpose, helped me to realize my potential. And we help other people. He's kinda like a father figure to me, to all of us." I paused, grinning, knowing that by saying that, she might feel a bit better herself about calling Adam dad earlier. "I absolutely love being a feral. Sure there were times when I was younger that I hated it. I wanted to be normal, just like anyone else. But, honestly, I'd miss it. If I wasn't...well, me anymore. I'd miss being able to jump a building in a single leap, scale walls without a harness and ropes, see further. All my heightened senses would be gone too. I don't think I'd cope with not being a mutant anymore very well. Adam helped me accept who I was, and I wouldn't have it any other way." Being a feral was great, pure and simple. I smiled again and shrugged in answer to her last question. This was an easy one. "Because it's what we do."
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 5, 2009 2:50:56 GMT -7
"It's fine. I barely knew him only when he came to take me away I-" I broke off as images of the past fluttered behind my eyelids at the memory. My father had come inside, demanding to know why he wasn't told that I existed. My mother screamed at him to leave, that he had no right to come and accuse her like that, I knew that he knew what was going on and instantly tried finding me. Standing in the doorway as I cowered, bruises on my arms and tears of my face further made him think that I needed to be taken away, to be safe. I remembered his eyes, kind and caring as he reached out towards me, my hands let go of the teddy bear in my arms as an explosion rocketed backwards, my father no longer standing but in pieces. We moved out soon after, mostly to get away from the cops and that my mother figured I didn't need to stay in a room that had a man blown to pieces in. "I didn't mean to." I whispered, as guilt and sadness rose in my stomach as my body shook slightly.
"Well I feel relieved." I said truthfully at the mention of Adam keeping an eye out in case I mutated further. "Yea, I kinda noticed about the good guy thing, I just was too defensive to lower my guard." I shrugged, shoulders rolling to get more comfortable while we sat, my hands still dipped into the water and swirling through the liquid so I had something to do with my hands. "No, its fine, I understand." As long as they didn't use it to hurt me, we were fine in my eyes. "I do want to spar with Jesse one day." Two moleculars sparring? Too cool. "And us, being, you know, both feral." It was odd for me to talk so much, but in a way, also kind of nice. "Half sisters? Just don't expect to be borrowing my clothes." I winked, smiling softly at the joke, but feeling all warm and fuzzy on the inside. "You probably won't like it." Eyes darkened as I spoke and stared into the water lapping against my fingers. "You will need to know the full story to at least understand, but still, you probably won't like it."
I stopped talking and let her speak, listening with rapt attention. "Wow." It was all I could say, my voice couldn't find any words to say, nor could my brain, it was odd. "Definitely makes him a good guy." I said more to myself than to Shalimar, who obviously knew he was good. Her statement about the father figure thing made me blush and stand up suddenly, stretching limbs to keep occupied, I really didn't want to have to think about it again. "Well, even so, I doubt he would want some punk 17 year old he doesn't even know call him dad, slip of the tongue or not." Defensive measures were building and I had to get a grip on myself! "Sorry, I'm just not used to all this." I decided to focus on her last words instead that words already said and spoken. If you get what I mean. "Heightened senses are good, I would hate to lose mine. But I don't think I've tried scaling a wall before." Honestly, it never occurred to me that I may be able to. Looks like I had some tests to do. "I just hope you don't regret it." I spoke to her words about its what we do, I didn't want them to regret it, and wasn't going to give them a reason, but still.
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Post by Shalimar Fox on Apr 5, 2009 3:16:46 GMT -7
"Well, like it or not you're stuck with me. With all of us, for now anyway." I laughed. Once she let her guard down she was fun, she had a sense of humor in there, which was a good thing. You can't do what we do without having a sense of humor. It could cost you your sanity, or your life. "Jesse's tough, but he's been training with me for years." It would be neat to watch them spar, it'd just make me itch to get in on the action myself. I stood up, "Hey, don't be sorry, and don't be so hard on yourself. I get that this is all a lot to take in. Don't worry about being defensive once in a while. It could keep you alive. But with us, you're safe. You'll learn that soon enough, and it'll be easier to take your gaurd down. Trust me, I've been there myself."
"As for sparing and wall climbing, no time like the present. Come on, I'll show you where we train." Adam, the genius that he is, had built a specialized containment unit that served to run training exercises, simulate battle scenarios, and even operate as a safe guard against hostile new mutants. It had a forcefield that could contain both a person, and whatever their powers may be. I lead Niki right to it, sat at the computer and punched in a command to start up a simulated training exercise. The chamber in front of us shimmered and changed. It now appeared the size of a city block, warehouses and industrial buildings lined the streets, but there was no life, no humans, or mutants for that matter, around. "Our own little playground." I grinned as I got up and headed into the chamber.
Once Niki and I both were inside, we could no longer see Sanctuary itself. Instead we were in the virtual 'city' I'd created. "We can create any surroundings, any situation in here. I went with something simple for starters. Just you and me and plenty of walls to climb. If you get the hang of it, we'll try sparring too." I was all smiles now. I lived for this stuff. "Let's see what you've got." I winked and jumped. I went 15 feet into the air and clung to the side of a building. Using my hands and feet opposite each other I scaled the wall to the roof, almost scampering. For lack of a better description. It took seconds from the time my feet left the ground until I was gazing down at Niki from above. "Alright, you've seen it, now it's your turn." I called down to her. "Getting down's the easy part." I stepped forward and dropped, landing crouched beside Niki. "See? Nothing to it." I smirked.
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Post by Niki Abernathy on Apr 5, 2009 3:37:54 GMT -7
"You know, I think I can handle that." I grinned warmly, nodding my head. "Well, do you think he'll want to spar? I mean, I don't know him." I trailed off, shaking my head, "thanks." Taking deep breathes and feeling a little bit better, keeping her words as a talisman of comfort, holding it close. I've never had such kindness and warmth unless someone wanted something from me, even then it wasn't genuine. "Safe, its been a while since I've heard that word." And it was true. Safety hadn't exactly been my friend in my life. Anyway, following Shalimar, I wondered what to expect, then the virtual city showed in my eyes and my jaw dropped. "Are you serious?" I marveled, following her into the chamber, and it was really like we were in a city. "Wow, this is, amazing. Really, it is." I was stunned, and glanced around as if trying to remind myself it wasn't real, it looked pretty damn realistic. Shaking off any doubts, I watched Shalimar with a gulp. How was I supposed to do that?
"Sees the girl who has no trouble at all." I replied with a half smile, unsure on what the hell I was supposed to do this. Walking right up to the wall, I jumped, way way higher than I was supposed to, or even expected, my eyes stared simply in shock as I grabbed the wall, holding on for dear fucking life as I followed Shalimar's movements before feeling the rooftop level out and glad for something solid, I panted, cuddling the rooftop of the building while half glancing downwards for Shalimar. "Did you know I could jump that freaking high?" I called, slightly thrilled at the same time. I had no idea my agility in jumping was that great, then again, never trying it before but still. I began to laugh, a relief moment as I stood up carefully so not to fall, my laugh bounded everywhere, spreading my arms out wide, pure joy lined my face. "That was totally awesome!" I cried out, the smile never faltering on my face, another new experience.
"Come on!" I called, darting forwards and feeling feet crunch loose gravel on the roof, nothing to make me slip but enough for a good grip. At the edge, I pivoted my right foot, leaping off the building and letting pure instinct take over, high I soared, into the sky and over the 'ground' below, landing slightly less graceful on the other side. This was amazing, this was freedom! Running again, I dived off the edge, jumping to a smaller building hands touching the sides before jumped towards the ground again. I wasn't sure if I could jump to the ground from that height without splattering myself, so I opted for the jump around. Jumping from a higher building, to a smaller building, and then to the targeted area. You know like Daredevil going from one building to another? Yea, like that. "Man that was awesome." My heart was still thumping rapidly, but there was another issue, as much as I wanted to continue, my stomach rumbled. "Hey Shalimar? Can we get something to eat, I'm starving." Literally. At home food was limited, really, really limited.
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