Children of the Atom
by jeanne
Pricilla shivered, hugging closer to the cold stone wall to avoid another
blast of fridgid New York air. 'Of all the places in the world', she thought,
'Why did I have to pick New York City?'
She snorted in disgust at herself ,' Yeah, like I had much choice of where
I went. When three guys come after you with big guns, you teleport to the
first place that comes up!'
She closed her eyes in agony and silently berated herself. 'Don't think
about that! It will only remind you of mom...and dad...Oh god!' She jammed
her fists into her eyes to stop the flood of tears from falling, but she
couldn't stop the whimpering.
The sound of cloth against stone caught her notice and she silently slipped
deeper into dark alley behind her. Her red-rimmed eyes scanned the street in
front, while her dark hair and clothes helped her blend in with the shadows
until she was invisible. "Invisibility. Now theres a good power to have.
Unlike the one I got.'
A whole gang of boys appeared before her suddenly, speaking Spanish and
carrying wicked looking knives and lead pipes. They passed a whiskey bottle
back and forth as they stood under the streetlight. Pricilla mentally
blessed the empathy that allowed her to understand them, even though she'd
never learned Spanish.
"" said
one boy.
"" another person said, slapping
hands with Miguel.
"" said a third. He was obviously the leader. With his
dark black hair and angel-like face, it was hard for Pricilla to imagine him
as a killer. But his next words were so cold that she shivered again,
pulling the black leather jacket she'd stolen tighter over her ragged
sweater. ""
"" a cruel voice asked from nearby. Pricilla jumped in surprise,
for she hadn't heard the second gang arrive. She deemed it prudent to stay
low, she slid further into the darkness of the alley, taking care to make no
sound. 'As if they would hear me', she thought wryly as she saw the two
gangs square off.
Angelo pulled out a knife and advanced on the leader of the other gang.
"" He said in a cold, deadly voice "" He flicked the knife point out as the two began to
circle each other.
Pricilla was so involved in the the drama unfolding that she didn't notice
what was happening at first. By the time that she relized it, Poison and the
Cobras stood as if in a trance . They stared straight ahead at nothing,
their bodies slack, their eyes unblinking.
:Well: said a voice in Pricillas mind :You have been very naughty boys. Do
your mothers know where you are this late at night?:
Pricilla searched the darkness beyond the streetlight for the speaker, and
was rewarded when she saw the woman step out into the light.
She was quite literally speechless at what she saw. Tall, with pure blond
hair, this woman would be noticed where ever she went. But her clothes added
the final, crowning touch. She was dressed in a white leather corset with a
short jacket covering it, and knee high boots. 'Who-or what-is she?" thought
Pricilla in shock.
:Normally, boys, I would leave you here to finish each other off. But not
tonight, Oh no, my first vacation from the school in quite awhile and you
will not ruin it.: The woman stopped and said crisply :Go home children.
Play times over.:
All of the boys turned and left in different directions, so quickly that if
she hadn't seen it herself, Pricilla would never have believed it. She
stared at the woman in awe, wondering yet again what she was.
:I'm a mutant child: The woman said speaking directly to her :As, I
suspect, you are as well.:
Pricilla jumped to her feet in fear and turned to flee down the alley.
:Wait: though the command was given softly, Pricilla found that she was
moving torwards the woman.
:What is your name, child?:
"P-Pricilla", she managed to stutter out.
:My name is Emma Frost. You may call me Emma: the woman said as she reached
out and grasped Pricilla by the chin, "Hmm....you look as if you haven't
eaten in a few days. Come with me."
Once again, Pricilla found herself doing something against her will. She
followed Emma to where a long white limo was parked. A huge chauffere got
out of the front seat and opened the door. "Evening Ms. Frost, ma'am," he
said nodding at Pricilla. 'He acts' she thought scathingly 'As if Emma Frost
kidnapping a person was a common occurance!'
:Oh, I have been known to be eccentric.: Emma said in her head :and my
people are notoriously hard to surprise.:
"I wish you wouldn't do that," Pricilla said, rubbing her head. Then she
asked quietly "What do you intend to do with me?"
"Take you back to my school,"Emma said, touching up her face from a
compact.
"Your going to send me to a camp, arn't you? Give me to the Friends of
Humanity? Kill me?" asked Pricilla dully, staring out the window. It had
started to rain, drops splattering on the surface creating a pattern even
through the chaos. 'I wonder what it would be like to be a raindrop.'
Emma closed the compact with a snap and looked over at Pricilla in shock.
"Camps? F.O.H? Kill you? Where did you grow up, girl?"
"Genosha" Pricilla said, conveying everything with that curt statement.
"Ah," said Emma, thinking quietly for a few minutes, "That would
explain...But, see here. Haven't you ever heard of Charles Xavier?"
"Xavier?" asked Pricilla indifferently "Sure, what I hear about him on the
news. He's the one thats got some school out in Massachusets, right?"
"Right. Only Only its not just any school. Its a school for mutants."
"for Mutants?!" asked Pricilla, swinging around to face Emma in
astonishment.
"Yes, to help them. To train them. The protect them. It's...just
Xaviers." Emma said quietly. "
"Why?" asked Pricilla suspiciously.
"Because Xavier has a dream, child. A dream of humans and mutants living
together in peace one day." Emma said.
"Peace." Pricilla said, turning back to the window, "Is there ever any
peace for our kind?"
"Perhaps one day." Emma leaned forward and put her hand on Pricilla's
knee."What happened to you?"
Pricilla stared at Emmas hand. "To understand, I have to start at the
begining. You know I'm from Genosha. Well, I spent some time in a...camp.
A death camp." She swallowed hard,"I was rescued by freedom fighters." She
smile a grim little smile at Emma's look of surprise, "Yes there were freedom
fighters. Not many, but enough to keep a few of us alive."
She was silent for a minute before continuing. "They helped me and my
parents escape to America. We started a new life, we began to feel....safe."
She glanced quickly at Emma, expecting condemation, and kept going when she
saw none. "And then THEY came."
"Who are they?" asked Emma.
Pricilla looked over at her, her eyes again filled with tears, and said in
an anguished whisper, "Assasains. Genoshan terrorists. They killed my
parents, and now they're looking for me."
For a long time, there was only silence.
Children of the Atom
part 2
Pricilla Jones had never thought about genes when she was a child. She had
thought that everyone was the same, like a row of Gingerbread Men, all
exactly alike. She never relized that more than the color of a persons skin
or where they came from was different.
The day that she relized it was supposed to be a happy day. It was her
friends birthday party, and she had been laughing and playing games while her
parents looked on indulgently. A normal pastime for a 12 year old child.
But then the car came around the corner, Yoshi in the road, heading straight
for him......Pricilla hadn't hesitated, just flung her hand up and dissolved
Yoshi in a shimmering column of light. The car crashed into a tree, people
started shouting, Yoshi yelling....then they focused on Pricilla, staring at
her with anger, fear, revultion plain on their faces. Her parents had
grabbed her and left, saying that Pricilla could never do anything like that.
Then she remembered being taken away, taken to a place of death and despair
and hopelessness. A death camp for mutants. Now, a death camp for children.
Pricilla couldn't recall what happened next. All she remembered was men in
dark suits; a never ending car ride through the city to a place of death,
with despair...with hopelessness. It was then that she relized the
difference was between those who lived and those who died.
She was rescued by Freedom Fighters and sent to America after about six
months. She met her parents in NYC, and they moved to the Midwest,
believeing themselves safe.
"We should never have given up the fear."Pricilla said out loud. She tore
her gaze from the window and glanced at Emma.
"How could you have known the Genoshans would follow you?" Emma said
comfortingly.
"Thats no excuse. Our kind can never give up the watchfullness. Creed and
the FOH are already very powerful on the hatred of mutants. What if someone
else comes along? Someone more...evil?" asked Pricilla disparingly.
"Thats why the Xmen formed." Emma said.
The silence in the car was broken only by the sound of the rain on the
roof. Pricilla looked out over the street, looking with unseeing eyes at the
neon lights flashing by, and the cars parked on the side.
'Wait a minute!' thought Pricilla, sitting up in shock "Emma, that black
car in front of the brownstone over there? Thats the asassains car!"
"What?!" asked Emma, looking over at the car, "Are you sure?"
"Absolutely. I could never forget it." said Pricilla viciously.
"Drive around the corner, then stop," Emma ordered her driver, fumbling
around in her bag for her cell phone.
"What are you doing? We have to go catch them!"
"We arn't going to do anything! I'm calling Xavier, he can get the Xmen
over here for this."
"NO! Emma, the Xmen will never be able to get here in time! Didn't you
see? The Genoshans are leaving!, " cried Priclla as she grabbed the door
handle and jumped out of the moving car. Emma grabbed for her, and
overbalanced when the car suddenly screeched to a halt.
"Pricilla...!" she yelled out even as the girl disappeared in the rain,
"Insolent child! Here, call Xavier," she tossed the cell phone to her driver
and dashed out into the rain after Pricilla.
The driver sighed as he dialed the number. "Why she thinks Xavier will
listen to me, I don't know.......Hello, may I speak to Charles Xavier,
please?"
Pricilla huddled near the open window of the car. She couldn't seem to
stop shivering, and it wasn't just because of the cold air.
"" one said angrily, slamming the
trunk shut.
"" the second said.
""
""
Pricilla felt a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She looked up,
and sure enough, one of the Genoshans stood over her. He smiled nastily and
pulled her upright by her braid.
The second man started chuckling. ""
They carried her, kicking and screaming, into the house. Pipeline checked
the street for witnesses, before going in and shutting the door quietly
behind him. Emma watched from the shadows, biding her time.
Waiting for the right moment to strike.
Children of the Atom
Part 3
Pricilla awoke in darkness. Her head hurt, and when she reached up to
touch it, her hand came away covered in blood.
The Genoshan's had locked her into this tiny choset room while they
finished packing their things. She was supposedly returing with them to
Genosha, and as much as the prospect scared her, the thought of seeing the
leader of the asassains terrified her. From the way he was not discussed,
she got the feeling that he was someone she wouldn't enjoy meeting.
Slowly she stood up, wincing when the room started spinning. Bracing her
hand against the wall, she waited until the room stood still once more before
searching for an escape. Not that she expected one, but overconfident people
had been known to make mistakes before.....and the Genoshan's were certainly
overconfident! Besides, she had a secret weapon in Emma Frost.
It was a small room taht they had locked her into. There was a window high
up on the wall that let in a small amount of light, though it was covered
with iron bars. The door was closed and locked tight, without even a crack
between the floor and the bottom of the door. The only furniture there was a
small cot pushed into one corner.
Pricilla cursed with words that would have made her mother blanch. Her
head hurt horribly, she was bleeding all over herself, and somewhere outside
were three men who wanted to rip her heart out.
'Why? What did I do?' she thought fiercly. The light in the room had
slightly started to fade as the sun moved from the eastern sky to directly
overhead.........
'Ceiling..' Pricilla thought in amazement 'There's light coming in from the
ceiling!'
Ignoring the pain, she flipped her head back and discovered a skylight
abover her, the perfect escape route....except for the bars that covered it.
Pricilla went back to pacing the room. She knocked on the walls looking
for hidden passageways, she tried to pull the bars out of the windows, but
nothing she did had any effect.
Hours went by and Pricilla's headache intensified.
'Asprin!' she thought desperatly 'If I could only get some asprin!' With
asprin she could bring her headache down enough to teleport herself out of
there. Right now she didn't dare try it, because the unstableness of her
power combined with her exhaustion might cause her to make a mistake and end
up in Siberia.
At near sunset, Pricilla fell onto the cot and into a nightmare. The
moonlight eventually washed over her tear streaked face and brought her to
full awareness when it suddenly disappeared.
Pricilla opened her eyes and stared up at the skylight. The light
disappeared again, and Pricilla hid her face in the cot.
Emma Frost stuck her head in through the skylight, and looking down on
Pricilla said crossly "I wouldn't hide your face if I were you, Pricilla.
You wouldn't want to miss your grand escape, now would you?"
It was the most beautiful sound Pricilla had ever heard.
Children of the Atom
Part 4
Pricilla and Emma crouched together on the roof. Below them, Hawkshaw and
Pipelinepatrolled the perimiter of the house. Presumably, the Master was
still was still in the house, taking care of last minute things. Pricilla
sighed impatiently.
"Why don't you mind command them to leave?" she whispered impatiently.
"Because they have shields child. I don't want to use my power anywhere
near those sheilds again." Emma shuddered.
"Shields? What sheilds?"
"Have you tried to use you powers at around that house?" Pricilla shook
her head, and Emma continued with a slight shiver, " Around everything those
Genoshan's are using is a shiel that prevents a mutant from using any powers.
A kind of glorified inhibitor. I tried to scan for you earlier and ended up
slamming my mind into a...brick wall, is the only way to describe it. I
suspect that if you had used your power, even a bit of it, you would be worse
off than I was."
"But if you couldn't scan for me, how did you find me?" asked Pricilla in
confusion.
"I did it the old fashioned way. I listened to them from behind a bush
until they mentioned where you were being held. Not the most pleasant way to
spend a night, but effective nonetheless." Emma replied quietly.
Emma brushed her finger on Pricilla's arm, and they quickly made their way
down to the ground. They slipped through the shadows to the front of the
building and started to walk away.
"Hello ladies, and I use the term loosley. Just where do you think your
going?" a cold, accented voice asked. Emma spun around, catching Pricalla
and pulling her away from the man. "Not going to speak?" he asked as he
chuckled nastily "That's fine with me. Hawkshaw, Pipeline, grab them!"
When Emma and Pricilla were secured, Pricilla still struggling against
Pipeline, the man gestured to them. "Why are you helping her, Ms. Frost?
You dont' seem the type to help a nameless, penniless child."
"If I had a chance I wouldn't help you."
"THAT, Ms. Frost, is painfully obvious." the man said as he lit a match and
held it to his cigarette.
Suddenly Emma exploded into action, kicking the man's match into his eyes
as she threw Hawkshaw to the ground in a practiced move. Pricilla took
advantage of Pipeline's momentary distraction, and smashed her elbow into his
lungs. Emma hit him with a nearby tree branch, and he fell to the ground with
a small moan. With hardly any warning, she whirled and took Hawkshaw in the
chest her foot, and he fell to join his partner. To the side, the man still
continued to scream, clutching his burning eye socket. The distand sound of
police sirens made itself known.
The two ran away as fast as they could, until they reached an alley they
could get into. They slid into the darkness and collapsed onto the ground.
"Uggh. These clothes won't need washing, they will need fumigating!" Emma
said in disgust, holding her jacket out from her body. "Remind me, child,
first thing we do when we get back to the school is go shopping."
"I'm not going back to your school, Emma," Pricilla said, staring at the
ground.
"WHAT?! Of course you are!"
"You remember telling me about Xavier, Emma? And how I didn't know
anything about him?" at Emma's nod, Pricilla went on, "Well, I want to go
find more mutants, like me, who don't know what to do or where to turn.
There'll always be genejokes like...them..but I can make sure that they don't
hurt anyone else."
"Your serious about this, Pricilla? I cannot convince you to come back at
all?" Emma asked.
"No......I won't go there." Pricilla stood up and walked further into the
alley. She raised her hand, and a rainbow of multi colored lights rained
down over her body, falling faster and faster until all that could be seen of
Pricilla was color and light. "That dream Xavier had?" the light said, "I
wish more people would pay attention to it."
With a suddeness that was devestating in it's entirety, Pricilla and her
light were gone. Emma slowly stood up and looked reflexively down at her
clothes. "So do I, child. So do I." And as she walked off, other words
echoed in her mind from the gathering crowd down the street, words of hate
({Damn muties! Oughta kill them all....Maybe Graydon Creed has the right
idea...No good, evil, bad.....}) and she couldn't help but wonder what the
future would bring, to Xavier, to Pricilla, to every mutant in the
world.......and she couldn't help but fear.
As she disappeared to return to her students and her school, she missd the
change in the air, the change in feeling as the helicopters arrived, as the
men came, as Bastion himself came out to take the situation in hand.
(
geocities.com/soho)