Extremes #2: A New Day
"Who are you? What do want with me?" Drew says hysterically.
"Calm down, son. T'is all right. We're friends of Paige. She told us
about ye," says the redheaded man.
"Paige?"
"Yes, child. She, along with other teenagers like yourself, is a part
of our humble abode. We know you're a mutant," says the lady in an
elegant manner.
"We kin talk to ye'r parent folk about it. It's up t' ye though."
"You're a mutant, and you need to harness your powers, for if you don't
learn how to control them, people can get hurt. Please, come with us."
"What? Me . . . join the school. No, no, I can't! I'm not ready or
anything!" Drew snaps at them as he leans up from the hospital bed.
"Calm down, child," starts Frost. "With great power comes great
responsibility. It's your choice. You know you're a mutant. Why don't
you come to the school as see if you like it? If you don't, you can come
back."
I've always wanted this, Drew speaks to himself, so why am I refusing
this great opportunity? I've always wanted to have an adventurous life.
That life could be me being the future leader of the X-Men! Or was that
Z-Men? I can't remember what Paige called them. Oh, well, here goes
nothing . . .
"Where is it, again?" asks Drew curiousity stricken.
"Massachusetts. A division of the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning.
As you might not have heard us talking with the nurse . . ." Sean
Cassidy started.
"No need to finish, Mr. Cassidy. I heard all of your conversation. I'll
talk to my parents to see if it's okay. I'm so afraid of my power. I
haven't even used it really. If I have, it's only by accident."
"Splendid then," Emma said. "My associate and I will be staying at a
local hotel. If you need us, just think it."
"Think it?"
"Not now, Drew. You still have t' get ye'r rest. Goodbye."
"Goodb*" mutters Drew dosing off once more.
The hospital parking lot . . .
"Poor child," Emma Frost voices.
"Poor child? What da ye mean, woman?" scolded Cassidy.
"I saw it in his mind. A great depression. I guess that most all young
men and women feel that way after they start noticing that they have
gifts, both blessed and cursed. He's also curious as a kitten. So eager
to master the use of his abilities."
Emma stops as they get into their car. She then starts once more as
Sean starts the car, "I hope his parents decide that coming to the
school is for the best . . ."
"Good night!" yelped Sean.
"What is it?"
"Who did you leave with the children?!"
"McCoy of coarse. When I told him we were going out to find Drew, he
suggested he'd stay. He also wanted to learn more about M's condition."
Calming down, Sean says, "Condition isn't the word for it. Autistic is
not your ordinary condition."
"Just drive, Sean."
*
"I wonder if Drew's okay," Alex thinks to himself as he sits on the
Gym's bleachers doing his homework. "I heard he collapsed while trying
to get out of the room. What caused it? I haven't heard from him either.
And all of this noise in here. It's giving me a headache. Huh?"
Alex is surprised when he sees a redheaded man and a blonde woman walk
in very casual.
*What's the point of this, Emma? Drew's in th' hospital, and we go to
his school?*
*I want to see if there's anymore. I don't want this to be a wasted
trip.*
*Wasted trip? We might've saved the young lad. You know how hard it is
for the rest of the children, growing up in a world that hates them! I
do though agree that we ought to look for more before we leave.*
*Sean, look. That boy is looking at us as if he's frightened. I quick
mind probe wouldn't hurt. With luck, he might even be one.*
*I donna think so, woman! If he is, he doesn't need you to be probin'
where ye not wanted!* rebuked Sean. *We'll approach the lad in a
respectable manner."
"Never thought you would have said that to me. All right then. Let's
go.*
*They see me. They're coming over here. What do I do? They look so
familiar. It's like that I've seen them someplace before, but I don't
ever recall of such . . .*
"Hello, child. Could we take a moment of your time?"
"Wha? Who are you? What do you want?!" exclaims Alex standing very
brazenly. *I can't take this anymore! I came here from the future to get
rid of the hate, but I've found out something about this place: it's not
that much different from the time I was born!*
As all this happens, everyone looks toward Alex.
"Can't any of you understand?!" shouts Alex again as there's a scarlet
spark in his eyes. His hand starts to tremble. "What's happening to
me?!"
Then came a bellowing blast from his hand knocking everyone to their
backs. The lights in the Gymnasium, as well as the whole school, go out,
too. The Gym becomes pandemonium as the students run senselessly.
*Stop!* comes a roar of an intense psionic scream. As the command said,
everyone stops and stands still, physically and mentally, for the time
being. Well, almost everyone. Alex wasn't affected.
"I might as well do my part," says Sean Cassidy. He opens his mouth
without a single word coming from within his mouth. The students and
teachers close their eyes and go to sleep.
"What do you want from me?" asks a scared Alex.
"We're from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters," replies Emma. "I am
Emma Frost and this is Sean Cassidy."
"Xavier? But I thought he was dead . . ."
"Because you're from the future right? I didn't mean to, but when I
psionically struck everyone in here, I accidentally did a psi-probe into
your mind."
*Accident? Hmp!* says Sean inauspicious of Emma's comment. "Aye, lad.
Ye aren't that much off th' truth concernin' about Xavier's death."
"What do you mean?"
"Never mind him, Charles. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
*Blast it all!*
"Listen now. You are a unique young man, Alex Davidson. As you know,
you are a mutant. You have special abilities which responsibility must
come from. Please come with us. We can show you how to use the powers,
but it's your decision."
*I kinnae believe ahm hearin' this. I've neve' heard her say such
things in a tone such as this. Good for you, Emma. Good fer ye,*Sean
says to himself.
"I want to go with you," replies Alex. "I'm so scared. Just now, I
could've hurt someone. I don't want that to happen. Please, I want to go
with you!"
Emma puts her arms around the boy as a single tear goes across his
right cheek.
"It's going to be all right," conveys Emm. *I've never really expressed
my emotions with the others like this. I, too, am afraid. Afraid of what
might happen to these poor innocent children of the atom. The same way
my precious Hellions . . .*
"Emma, dear, tis time t' go."
"Let's go, Alex."
"Ms. Frost?"
"Yes?"
"You two didn't come all the way here to get me in particular did you?"
"No, not exactly. Actually, we came for your friend."
"Which friend?"
"Drew Ebon."
*
Days run rapidly for Drew Ebon and Alex Davidson as they get ready to
leave their home to go to the Massachusetts Academy. As for transferring
between the schools, the two boys' parents get everything arranged.
Everything seems to be "running smoothly" for them, until their last
day at Tullahoma High School . . .
*Well, Drew, this is your last day at school in Tullahoma. And to
think, we, the Freshmen class, have been in school for only five weeks
now. At least I won't be overcrowded at the Academy,* thinks Drew as
he's on his way to his second period class, Physical Science. *I'm gonna
miss my friends though . . . and my family. But I can always contact
them telepathically. I really don't want to tell the others. When they
ask a teacher or something, he or she will tell them that I moved. I
guess that's the best though. Here comes Alex.*
They come closer to the classroom and stands in front of the door.
*There comes Drew. I wonder what he's thinking right now. He's probably
the same thing that I am.*
*A penny for your thoughts, Alex.*
*Drew? You . . . read my mind?" asks Alex as they walk into the room
together
"I'm sorry, Alex. I'm not really use to this. First off, I find out
that I'm a mutant with so-called ‘psionic' powers. Second, I find out
that my best friend is a mutant also, and that he's from the future.
Now, I can control a certain level of pain brought on by these powers,
because Ms. Frost gave me these little things that I put right up to my
scalp, under my hair,* says Drew showing, Alex the ‘thingies.'
*Couldn't you have said that any other way?* "Oh. Well, Drew, are we
going to go around the school halls and mope? Maybe we should tell the
others . . ."
"No!"
"Be quiet, man," Alex whispers. "I don't want to get in trouble on the
last day at this school. And why can't we tell anyone? We wouldn't tell
them about, well, you know, we would only tell them we're transferring.
What's the big deal?"
*Now you be quiet. Ms. Frost taught me some things about my powers. She
told me about how I can sense things by constantly surrounding myself
with psi-plasm. I've been at it all morning and I've got this real edgy
feeling that's something is going to happen.* says Drew as they go to
their seats. *I guess that hasn't a thing to do with not telling anyone.
I'm just so . . . jumpy, I can hardly stand it!*
"You're just nervous, that's all. Tomorrow you'll be away from a lot of
your friends. So will I."
"I wonder what the others are like," states Drew.
"Who?"
"You know. The others at the school."
"At least you know somebody there. What's her name again? Paige? That's
right. Anyway, let's make this day enjoyable all right?"
"Okay."
At the back of the classroom, a dark figure stands and stares. Stares
through the dark menacing eyes, waiting, but for what? If one was close
enough to this individual, he or she could almost hear a laugh. Then
suddenly, he is gone, escaped through the shadows which were behind him.
*
Nearing the end of the day, Drew and Alex, without telling each other,
tells some of their friends that they are leaving to go to another
school. They both keep secret about what kind of school it really is.
This is because of the recent "Mutant Hysteria." Graydon Creed, a
candidate for presidency, forwards this fear of mutants to everywhere in
the United States. A new project called Operation: Zero Tolerance is for
the elimination of mutant kind, and it's run by someone named Bastion.
Even though Alex thinks that everything is going to be okay, Drew has
diverse thoughts about that subject. He says that something is going to
happen and it's not going to be good. Because of his marvelous ability
of telepathy, and other psionic prowess, he can sense things that others
cannot. Mr. Cassidy told them when he and Emma first met with the new
generation of mutants. He told them that one of them was very brave and
sacrificed her life for those she hardly knew. She stopped a part of the
mutant hunters known as the Phalanx. This gave Drew the idea that there
might be someone after them, too. Alex says that he's just paranoid, and
that might be the case. Though, Drew is a psionic, there's not much that
can be hidden from a telepath.
As Drew walks to his fourth period, he thinks deeply to himself, *Alex
just doesn't understand how my mind works. Maybe these feelings of drear
are just coming from the thoughts of those around me. It doesn't seem
like that though. I don't know what to do. Something is going to happen!
I know it! Wha?*
Drew is suddenly struck with confusion and pain. He drops to his knees
grabbing his forehead. Then he notices that everyone in the school isn't
watching him. They're just standing there.
*What is this? What's happening/ Did I do this? It can't be real!*
"Oh, but it is, young Ebon. This is quite real."
(
geocities.com/soho)