A Young Mutant's Home
Apr. 30th, 2020 07:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
queenkatyastarTitle: A Young Mutant's Home
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: X-Men
Characters/Pairing: Storm, OMC
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: Puzzle Prompts: April 2020: ALL Categories
Word Count: 2,036
Date Written: 26 April 2020
Warnings: None
Summary: A young mutant's home is with the X-Men.
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
The child looked apprehensively at the regal leader of the X-Men. People were again crowding the park now that Ororo was home and the stormy weather that had recently overtaken was gone, but he couldn't comprehend why, of all the younger mutants the X-Men had gathered to protect and teach, she had chosen him to accompany her to the park this day. He tried to stay hidden inside the safety of his hooded jacket despite the fact that every one had assured him that the Beast's image inducer would not fail.
Humans cycled pass. They jogged and walked their dogs. They laughed all around him. And none seemed to take notice of his green skin or spikes. Still, he couldn't afford to slip up. He wanted to stay with the X-Men and make this place, even as big, bustling, and noisy as it was, his home for as long as he could. In truth, he just wanted a home, some place, any place where he no longer had to be afraid or scavenge humanity's trash in order to survive. The X-Men claimed he could stay with them for as long as he wanted, but it seemed almost too good a deal to be true despite their reputation, just like the image inducer.
"Hey! Watch out, kid!" He jumped and whirled around, but Ororo deftly and smoothly caught the football that had been whizzing at his head.
"We must always remain aware of our surroundings, little one, as best as we are able." She threw the ball. It spiraled through the air until the human caught it.
"Nice arm, woman!"
She smiled pleasantly as though she held such exchanges with humans every day, then took his hand and continued down the path. He looked up again and swallowed hard. "Am -- Am I in trouble?" he managed to squeak out at last.
A gentle, Spring breeze blew over them and lightly rustled the bright, green leaves of the surrounding trees. Ororo shook her head. "No. Why would you be?"
He shook his head. "I dunno. I just . . . " He shrugged and looked down at his feet as they continued to walk. "Why wouldn't I be? I always used to stay in trouble."
"You will not here, sweetheart, unless you choose to do so. You are welcome here. Your differences will earn you friends among the X-Men, not enemies." She squeezed his hand. "We take care of our own."
"I've always heard that," he admitted, and then almost choked on his words. "I mean, I'm not saying you don't. I'm not saying you'd lie or anything like that."
"It's all right, Ralph," Ororo assured, laughing gently and tugging on his hand. "Come with me, child. I have much to show you, but one particular lesson today."
He only realized as she was tugging on his hand that he had completely stopped walking. He hung his head and shuffled his feet, then almost jumped completely out of his chameleon-like skin as a group of humans raced pass them. They were on bikes, trying to outrun one another, and shouting as they did it. He bumped into Ororo and started stammering an apology, but she just moved her hand to his shoulder and again squeezed him gently. Her touch was lighter than any breeze, but he'd seen the woman angry too. She'd been fierce the day the X-Men had rescued him from the laboratory to which his own mother had sold him. The shouts of the humans had seemed deafening just now, but the thunderstorm, lightning, and eventually hurricane she had wielded that day had truly been the most deafening, fearsome thing he'd ever experienced. And she'd told him time and again since then that she had did it all to save him.
No one had ever cared about him before, though, so he still had trouble believing that. He still had trouble believing his luck, period. Every day he woke up thinking he was back at the laboratory. Every night he dreamed they were still experimenting on him. But so far, the X-Men had kept him safe and welcomed him with seeming sincerity. The school was a clean, bright, and friendly place, and though he still preferred to stay safe in the shadows even there, the X-Men and the other students all seemed genuinely happy. Nonetheless, just as his own skin could easily be forced to change appearance by outside influences, especially pain, he knew appearances could also be very different from what was truly being felt and experienced.
He gulped as his memories again threatened to overwhelm him. Suddenly, Ororo's hand was back in his, and she was squeezing him gently again. "It's okay, Raphael. You're safe here. No one will ever harm you while I, or any of the other X-Men, are near." He wished he could believe her words. Oh, how he wished he could believe he was truly safe at last!
She guided him off of the main path and into a dip in the park. It reminded him of the valleys he'd only ever read about, and the beauty caught his breath for a moment. Everything seemed so sweet, green, and peaceful. He almost pinched himself to make certain he was not dreaming, but he didn't want to let go of Ororo's hand. As long as he clung to Miss Ororo, he knew she could, at the very least, fly them to safety, just as she had flown with him in her arms and snuggled close to her chest the night she'd taken him out of that terrible place he'd known for most of his life.
He opened his mouth to ask her where they were going but then quickly shut it again. He had no right to ask this beautiful, regal woman anything. He'd read she had once been worshipped by her native people as a Goddess and could easily see why. She was far beyond anything any mortal could conceive of, far greater, even, than the Angels he'd once begged God to send to rescue him. Perhaps He had not sent Angels but the X-Men instead. Still, being safe at last, let alone having a place to call home and people to call friends, seemed impossible to be reality. He didn't deserve a home, friends, family, or any kind of love. He was nothing more than something for Scientists to use for their experiments.
"You're wrong to think you do not deserve to be with us. You are one of us, my dear child. You, and young mutants like you, are what the X-Men are all about. We were all once terrified, young mutants ourselves."
"You, Miss Ororo," he asked, his voice squeaking, "were afraid?" It seemed almost as impossible for a woman who could boldly and successfully control the winds, rain, lightning, and thunder to be afraid of anything as it was for him to finally have a place of safety, if not a place to call home.
"Yes. Some of us hid it better than others. That is true. But I knew fear as a child. I was buried alive with my parents."
"Because you were mutants?"
"No." She shook her head even as clouds seemed to gather in her bright, blue eyes. He didn't want her to be sad and instantly regretted asking the question. "Because the humans were at war. They wage war often. Far too many of them prefer to fight and even to kill what they do not understand." She squeezed his hand again. "Hurting those they fear make them think they have power, but nothing could be further from the truth, Raphael. Hurting some one, any one, simply because you can is weakness, not strength. Hurting others to get what you want is also weakness. Never forget that."
"I -- I won't," he promised, his voice almost a whimper. She had stopped walking, and he jumped when he followed her thoughtful gaze. Quickly, he ducked behind her.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Raphael."
"Ants hurt," he said, truly whimpering now as he remembered the time the Scientists had poured ants on him.
"Not unless they are provoked, and in fact, they help each other a great deal more than most humans. Their colonies, in their own way, are like the X-Men."
He looked doubtfully at her. He was still behind her, but she could feel the doubt and questions in his big-eyed gaze.
"Put on the sunglasses Doctor McCoy made you," she directed gently, releasing his hand. "Step closer. I will not let them bite you."
Hesitantly, fear clogging his throat and making him shake and sweat, he did so.
"Now look."
"I -- see a big mound of dirt."
"Look closer, Raphael. Closer. Closer."
He let her voice guide him. Soon, he could see pass the first levels of gray and black dirt. Tiny insects scurried this way and that. Several carried bites of food that were bigger than they were, no doubt from the trash cans and picnics throughout the park. He soon realized they were all carrying it to one ant in particular.
"They share food. They share everything they need."
"Under one leader," he whispered. "A Queen," he said, remembering the books he'd read.
"Yes." Ororo held a hand out over the mound. Rain drops fell from her fingers, slowly soaking into the dirt. Most of the rain slipped off of the mound, but a few droplets began to fill one of the tunnels. He gasped, his eyes widening even more, as a single ant raced and stuck his body into the mouth of the tunnel. He took the rain's blows but kept the water from reaching the other ants.
"You're hurting him!"
Ororo smiled. It was a good sign that the child she knew, from Rachel's assistance, who had once been covered from head to toe in ant bites was still so concerned about a meager bug.
"He'll be fine," she assured him, "but watch." She increased the rain until it blew pass the single ant. Ants began to climb together, forming rafts, and the tinier ants climbed aboard the living rafts. "They help each other," she said, stopping the rain. She fanned her fingers, and sunshine began immediately to dry the water. "In every way. They will die for their Queen, and for each other."
Raphael gulped.
"That is not what we are asking of you, Raphael. All we are asking is for you to stay with us, to stay in our colony, and give us a chance to protect you, as the ants protect one another, as we mutants protect one another."
He'd almost forgotten the stinging of the ants, but now he turned away and struggled against the moisture stinging his own, green eyes. Ororo left the ants to their own devices and knelt before him. Placing a hand once more on his bony shoulder, she gazed into Raphael's eyes. "I know you are struggling to believe us, but you are safe with us."
"I -- I think I am safe with you," he murmured.
"You are," she assured him.
He gasped as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. A warmth spread from her to him, and he felt such intense awe that he was almost dazed. "Is this -- Is this a hug?" he asked.
It was Ororo's turn to force tears from her eyes. "It is," she said. "You are safe, little one. Stay with me, and you will stay safe."
He buried his head into her breasts. "I'll stay for as long as you let me," he whispered, the tears he'd kept at bay for so long finally winning. He'd truthfully thought he had no more left to cry, and he'd surely never cried such tears before. He wasn't hurting. These were tears of joy, of relief, of gratitude . . .
Ororo rocked him gently. She gathered him into her arms and then lifted off of the ground. The humans pointed. Some shouted; others exclaimed. Still others sniggered. But he was safe and warm in her arms. He kept his face hidden and finally let himself cry. "They'll never hurt you again," she whispered, and kissed his head chastely as she carried him home.
The End
Author: Katya Starling
Fandom: X-Men
Characters/Pairing: Storm, OMC
Rating: PG/K+
Challenge/Prompt: Puzzle Prompts: April 2020: ALL Categories
Word Count: 2,036
Date Written: 26 April 2020
Warnings: None
Summary: A young mutant's home is with the X-Men.
Disclaimer: All characters within belong to their rightful owners, not the author, and are used without permission.
The child looked apprehensively at the regal leader of the X-Men. People were again crowding the park now that Ororo was home and the stormy weather that had recently overtaken was gone, but he couldn't comprehend why, of all the younger mutants the X-Men had gathered to protect and teach, she had chosen him to accompany her to the park this day. He tried to stay hidden inside the safety of his hooded jacket despite the fact that every one had assured him that the Beast's image inducer would not fail.
Humans cycled pass. They jogged and walked their dogs. They laughed all around him. And none seemed to take notice of his green skin or spikes. Still, he couldn't afford to slip up. He wanted to stay with the X-Men and make this place, even as big, bustling, and noisy as it was, his home for as long as he could. In truth, he just wanted a home, some place, any place where he no longer had to be afraid or scavenge humanity's trash in order to survive. The X-Men claimed he could stay with them for as long as he wanted, but it seemed almost too good a deal to be true despite their reputation, just like the image inducer.
"Hey! Watch out, kid!" He jumped and whirled around, but Ororo deftly and smoothly caught the football that had been whizzing at his head.
"We must always remain aware of our surroundings, little one, as best as we are able." She threw the ball. It spiraled through the air until the human caught it.
"Nice arm, woman!"
She smiled pleasantly as though she held such exchanges with humans every day, then took his hand and continued down the path. He looked up again and swallowed hard. "Am -- Am I in trouble?" he managed to squeak out at last.
A gentle, Spring breeze blew over them and lightly rustled the bright, green leaves of the surrounding trees. Ororo shook her head. "No. Why would you be?"
He shook his head. "I dunno. I just . . . " He shrugged and looked down at his feet as they continued to walk. "Why wouldn't I be? I always used to stay in trouble."
"You will not here, sweetheart, unless you choose to do so. You are welcome here. Your differences will earn you friends among the X-Men, not enemies." She squeezed his hand. "We take care of our own."
"I've always heard that," he admitted, and then almost choked on his words. "I mean, I'm not saying you don't. I'm not saying you'd lie or anything like that."
"It's all right, Ralph," Ororo assured, laughing gently and tugging on his hand. "Come with me, child. I have much to show you, but one particular lesson today."
He only realized as she was tugging on his hand that he had completely stopped walking. He hung his head and shuffled his feet, then almost jumped completely out of his chameleon-like skin as a group of humans raced pass them. They were on bikes, trying to outrun one another, and shouting as they did it. He bumped into Ororo and started stammering an apology, but she just moved her hand to his shoulder and again squeezed him gently. Her touch was lighter than any breeze, but he'd seen the woman angry too. She'd been fierce the day the X-Men had rescued him from the laboratory to which his own mother had sold him. The shouts of the humans had seemed deafening just now, but the thunderstorm, lightning, and eventually hurricane she had wielded that day had truly been the most deafening, fearsome thing he'd ever experienced. And she'd told him time and again since then that she had did it all to save him.
No one had ever cared about him before, though, so he still had trouble believing that. He still had trouble believing his luck, period. Every day he woke up thinking he was back at the laboratory. Every night he dreamed they were still experimenting on him. But so far, the X-Men had kept him safe and welcomed him with seeming sincerity. The school was a clean, bright, and friendly place, and though he still preferred to stay safe in the shadows even there, the X-Men and the other students all seemed genuinely happy. Nonetheless, just as his own skin could easily be forced to change appearance by outside influences, especially pain, he knew appearances could also be very different from what was truly being felt and experienced.
He gulped as his memories again threatened to overwhelm him. Suddenly, Ororo's hand was back in his, and she was squeezing him gently again. "It's okay, Raphael. You're safe here. No one will ever harm you while I, or any of the other X-Men, are near." He wished he could believe her words. Oh, how he wished he could believe he was truly safe at last!
She guided him off of the main path and into a dip in the park. It reminded him of the valleys he'd only ever read about, and the beauty caught his breath for a moment. Everything seemed so sweet, green, and peaceful. He almost pinched himself to make certain he was not dreaming, but he didn't want to let go of Ororo's hand. As long as he clung to Miss Ororo, he knew she could, at the very least, fly them to safety, just as she had flown with him in her arms and snuggled close to her chest the night she'd taken him out of that terrible place he'd known for most of his life.
He opened his mouth to ask her where they were going but then quickly shut it again. He had no right to ask this beautiful, regal woman anything. He'd read she had once been worshipped by her native people as a Goddess and could easily see why. She was far beyond anything any mortal could conceive of, far greater, even, than the Angels he'd once begged God to send to rescue him. Perhaps He had not sent Angels but the X-Men instead. Still, being safe at last, let alone having a place to call home and people to call friends, seemed impossible to be reality. He didn't deserve a home, friends, family, or any kind of love. He was nothing more than something for Scientists to use for their experiments.
"You're wrong to think you do not deserve to be with us. You are one of us, my dear child. You, and young mutants like you, are what the X-Men are all about. We were all once terrified, young mutants ourselves."
"You, Miss Ororo," he asked, his voice squeaking, "were afraid?" It seemed almost as impossible for a woman who could boldly and successfully control the winds, rain, lightning, and thunder to be afraid of anything as it was for him to finally have a place of safety, if not a place to call home.
"Yes. Some of us hid it better than others. That is true. But I knew fear as a child. I was buried alive with my parents."
"Because you were mutants?"
"No." She shook her head even as clouds seemed to gather in her bright, blue eyes. He didn't want her to be sad and instantly regretted asking the question. "Because the humans were at war. They wage war often. Far too many of them prefer to fight and even to kill what they do not understand." She squeezed his hand again. "Hurting those they fear make them think they have power, but nothing could be further from the truth, Raphael. Hurting some one, any one, simply because you can is weakness, not strength. Hurting others to get what you want is also weakness. Never forget that."
"I -- I won't," he promised, his voice almost a whimper. She had stopped walking, and he jumped when he followed her thoughtful gaze. Quickly, he ducked behind her.
"There's nothing to be afraid of, Raphael."
"Ants hurt," he said, truly whimpering now as he remembered the time the Scientists had poured ants on him.
"Not unless they are provoked, and in fact, they help each other a great deal more than most humans. Their colonies, in their own way, are like the X-Men."
He looked doubtfully at her. He was still behind her, but she could feel the doubt and questions in his big-eyed gaze.
"Put on the sunglasses Doctor McCoy made you," she directed gently, releasing his hand. "Step closer. I will not let them bite you."
Hesitantly, fear clogging his throat and making him shake and sweat, he did so.
"Now look."
"I -- see a big mound of dirt."
"Look closer, Raphael. Closer. Closer."
He let her voice guide him. Soon, he could see pass the first levels of gray and black dirt. Tiny insects scurried this way and that. Several carried bites of food that were bigger than they were, no doubt from the trash cans and picnics throughout the park. He soon realized they were all carrying it to one ant in particular.
"They share food. They share everything they need."
"Under one leader," he whispered. "A Queen," he said, remembering the books he'd read.
"Yes." Ororo held a hand out over the mound. Rain drops fell from her fingers, slowly soaking into the dirt. Most of the rain slipped off of the mound, but a few droplets began to fill one of the tunnels. He gasped, his eyes widening even more, as a single ant raced and stuck his body into the mouth of the tunnel. He took the rain's blows but kept the water from reaching the other ants.
"You're hurting him!"
Ororo smiled. It was a good sign that the child she knew, from Rachel's assistance, who had once been covered from head to toe in ant bites was still so concerned about a meager bug.
"He'll be fine," she assured him, "but watch." She increased the rain until it blew pass the single ant. Ants began to climb together, forming rafts, and the tinier ants climbed aboard the living rafts. "They help each other," she said, stopping the rain. She fanned her fingers, and sunshine began immediately to dry the water. "In every way. They will die for their Queen, and for each other."
Raphael gulped.
"That is not what we are asking of you, Raphael. All we are asking is for you to stay with us, to stay in our colony, and give us a chance to protect you, as the ants protect one another, as we mutants protect one another."
He'd almost forgotten the stinging of the ants, but now he turned away and struggled against the moisture stinging his own, green eyes. Ororo left the ants to their own devices and knelt before him. Placing a hand once more on his bony shoulder, she gazed into Raphael's eyes. "I know you are struggling to believe us, but you are safe with us."
"I -- I think I am safe with you," he murmured.
"You are," she assured him.
He gasped as she wrapped her arms tightly around him. A warmth spread from her to him, and he felt such intense awe that he was almost dazed. "Is this -- Is this a hug?" he asked.
It was Ororo's turn to force tears from her eyes. "It is," she said. "You are safe, little one. Stay with me, and you will stay safe."
He buried his head into her breasts. "I'll stay for as long as you let me," he whispered, the tears he'd kept at bay for so long finally winning. He'd truthfully thought he had no more left to cry, and he'd surely never cried such tears before. He wasn't hurting. These were tears of joy, of relief, of gratitude . . .
Ororo rocked him gently. She gathered him into her arms and then lifted off of the ground. The humans pointed. Some shouted; others exclaimed. Still others sniggered. But he was safe and warm in her arms. He kept his face hidden and finally let himself cry. "They'll never hurt you again," she whispered, and kissed his head chastely as she carried him home.
The End
