Date: Wed, 16 Mar 2011 22:15:19 -0400 From: J D Subject: A Man, a Mutant, an Empath Chapters 1-4 Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction and has no bearing on any people or characters mentioned within. With the exception of characters I have created the rest are trademarks of Marvel Inc. The scenes depicted are also fictitious and are not based in any realistic instance. This story may contain adult situations and may only be suitable for adults over the age of 18 or 21 depending on your area of residence. Please respect these laws. Chapter 1 Inside a classroom stands a teacher and a student. The young guy has his arms crossed over his long t-shirt and a determined expression lines his face. The teacher seems to be offering advice, not forcefully, not with any sign of disapproval, but with a calm manner. The gestures he makes slow and part of a relaxed rhythm. Within seconds the student uncrosses his arms, in a full minute he's speaking a few words in response. In five minutes he's pouring his heart out to his teacher who nods intermittently. By the end of ten minutes the boy, wiping tears from his eyes is waving from the door, an expression of relaxed resolve on his face before he heads out into the halls. The teacher heads around his desk, piled with papers to grade, and eases into his chair. As the final bell rings in the high school he begins reading over a report comparing Hamlet to the common man of today. This is where our story shifts and becomes a little different than most stories you might read. Instead of following the tale of the student, through the trials of puberty, of finding his place in the world and how to build steady relationships, we instead look towards this seemingly compassionate teacher. That teacher is me. My name is Jason Danvers. A man closer to 6 ft than 5 ft 11" I'm not stocky but not slim either. Instead I hold a fairly well balanced body with strong shoulders and waist, tight abs and slender muscled legs. I have dark brown hair with sandy highlights, my eyes are a curious hazel; gold and green chips inside brown iris'. I'm just shy of 25, single, and one of the youngest teachers able to get a permanent position at a high school so early in my career. Not exactly what you'd expect to be an interesting story, I know. However, let me assure you no matter how hard I try, my life is far from ordinary. I am a mutant, and to top it off, a gay mutant. Now before you jump at me saying "Hey wait a minute! Gays are accepted in Canada! You can even get married if you want to!" Let me explain. Yes, gays are legally accepted by the government and most people. However, there are still a great many people whose minds have yet to be opened. That boy you just saw me talking to, he's gay and his parents don't know. His father spends a fortune in anti-gay propaganda, trying to defeat gay marriage laws. The problem is, so many people think being gay is a non-issue now so they stopped talking about it. Now a new silence is being placed around us. A silence made up of a different kind of ignorance. Made up of false beliefs that the issue has been addressed, the people have spoken and now everything will be okay. Sadly, that's not the kind of world we live in. Change doesn't happen so fast. The door to my classroom opens, causing me to stir from these brooding thoughts and meet the eyes of someone I hadn't expected. Jean-Paul Beaubier. Codenamed Northstar and a part of Alpha-flight. More to the point, my ex-boyfriend. The air seemed to crackle as we sized each other up, reliving our own personal memories and searching for a way to begin. I chose to start the ball rolling. "You're looking good JP. What brings you all the way t-" "Its Jeanne-Marie. She needs you. It's bad this time." JP was never too into words, I used to force him to read to me, just so I could hear his smooth French-Canadian accent. However, on this occasion I could tell why he didn't explain further. Jeanne-Marie was JP's sister and also a part of Alpha-flight. However, she suffered from a mental condition: disassociative identity disorder. Also known as multiple personality disorder. I immediately stood, grabbing my still slightly new brief case from next to my chair, piling in papers I needed to read and zipping up the black leather case. While pulling on my jacket, it was mid spring now and the evenings were still chilly, I asked him, "How long till we get to her?" JP shrugged, "An hour tops." "Good." I strode out past him into the hall, the soft scent of his cologne wafting in my nostrils, that, coupled with my gift, brought me back to the last time we made love. Tousled black hair, sweaty lower back causing my fingers to slip as I held him up and- enough. I shook the thoughts from my head, striding faster towards the doors at the end of the hall. Not that I could out walk someone whose super fast, but I needed to keep myself in the moment. The doors shut with a loud metal clank behind us. I was just glad it was a Friday. Though I worried about my student surviving this week end, I knew Jeanne-Marie needed me more. Chapter 2: Personal History I think I got ahead of myself earlier. I am known on occasion to give into rants about how `the world would be a better place if.' I guess the discussion with my student had me going still. You're probably wondering why JP came to get me, why a simple teacher can help someone suffering from multiple personality disorder. It's because of my mutant ability, obviously. I'm known as a telempath with some telepathic ability. I sense -and to some degree experience- the thoughts and feelings of other people. This also allows me to manipulate them: draw out the truth, know what buttons to push, etc. I've never pushed my psionic abilities so I can`t say for sure what exactly I`m capable of. You may find that odd but I just never wanted to make myself a target. By the time my abilities were manifesting, people such as Magneto were well into abducting mutants, and there were others out there looking for us who would do far worse than coerce us into being part of an army. Plus it was a confusing time; I didn't even know for sure I was a mutant. All I knew was I had the emotions of a manic depressant, I'd have the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I thought maybe I was simply psychic. I got into witch craft and spiritualism which helped. The training that meditation and chanting offered me was probably what kept me alive and functioning through high school. However, it was experience that truly taught me how to survive. I remember when I was 17 and a kid at my high school died. I was over run with raw feeling. It was all I could do to get home. I laid in the bath tub for over two hours, trying to warm up from the coldness inside me. When I finally crawled out, I laid for half the night on my bedroom floor, starring into darkness; which was a hell of a lot brighter than what was going on inside me. I try not to linger on those memories, though they made me stronger; pushed my limits for emotional exposure to where they are today, it still can draw me too deep into myself. Suffice to say, the road was long and hard. Shaking myself from my thoughts I looked up to see a blur of trees before looking down to the new essay I was about to start marking. "In mordern times a person can be seen as being Hamlet in that they are haunted by the past while watching the horrible present corrupt any foreseeable future." Flicking my green pen over the spelling mistake in `modern' I reread my student's sentence before carefully continuing. So far they have done a fairly good job at making a concise opening statement but I was worried they may have limited themselves with such an encompassing remark, nothing left to uncover so to speak. I was seated in a dark brown Cadillac, the wide seat making it comfortable for me to stretch out and mark papers while JP drove. I could tell he was on edge, even if his aggressive driving wasn't a sign, my gift would have tipped me off. I knew though with his enhanced reaction time I was in no danger so I chose to relax. "So, still pretending to be a teacher?" My shoulders tensed. Clearly I had allowed myself to relax too much because I hadn't seen that coming. I said as coolly as possible, "The Bachelor of Education degree hanging up in my office would seem to indicate I'm not pretending." Welcome to the heart of our issues and one of the main reasons we broke up. JP felt I was special, that I had more to offer the world than being a simple high school teacher. Though in theory that is very sweet, his encouragement didn't stop there. His encouragement turned to pressure, to join Alpha flight or one of Department H's other teams. When I questioned him over the issue I found out my life seemed too simple to him. It broke my heart to see my loving partner look down so much on what I had dreamt as a wonderful life. With that one comment he had brought it all back up. Damn you JP. Chapter 3: Jeanne-Marie's Illness The silence crackled as we chaffed inside our own inner turmoil. It was with a great deal of relief when we turned onto a gravel road which lead towards a house I couldn't see clearly through the trees. I started packing my things back up. Mentally I tried to prepare myself for what laid within. The tension in JP expanded through out the car but my mental barrier held true. The house we came to was obviously new since the trees in the front yard were merely yearlings but it was styled in a Victorian gothic with sharp peaks, over done gables and peaked upper windows. There was even a front porch with a swing. I liked it. What I didn't like however were the waves of different emotional signatures I was receiving. I eyed JP suspiciously. Catching my look he replied scornfully, "You didn't expect me to leave her alone did you? We're a team, we take care of our own." I was glad he didn't end that with something like `and you'd know if you joined us.' At the same time, I knew it had been at the tip of his tongue. One of the worst parts about being psionic is you can't really get mad at what people think but not say. Its considered your own damn fault for hearing what wasn't said. I took a deep breath and got out of the car after it was parked next to a blue jeep and a red car that looked fast and European. Suddenly I caught my breath, another signature was approaching from the woods. I could tell who it was from the heightened senses, the deeply aggressive nature and the gaps in thought longing to be reconnected. "Wolverine..." I didn't bother to raise my voice, I knew he would hear me. The grunt from the darkness just outside the light from the windows was one of gruff acknowledgement. It's not that I didn't like Wolverine, he was as noble as he was savage. Plus who could resist those bulging arms? My issues were that 1. Jeanne-Marie always seemed to have more trouble when he was around and 2. If he was here that meant there was a chance I'd get on Xavier's radar. I knew the more people who knew about my gift meant less of a chance I'd have of keeping my semi normal life. JP understood what was going through my head. [He was part of the mission. He`s not here for you and he`s staying outside so he doesn`t upset Jeanne-Marie.] My face probably registered my shock, never had JP focused a thought my way in order for me to pick it up. It was an odd feeling, like suddenly stumbling on a clear radio station when before all you heard was static and bits of meaning you could string together. I shook myself from my thoughts and headed up the stairs, with a blur, JP was in front of me opening the door. The moment I walked over the door step I felt a wave of fluctuating mental structures. Setting my briefcase and jacket on a chair in the foyer I walked across the grey tile towards the wooden floor boards of the living room. The light came from lamps on tables set next to couches and a love seat. Two wood rocking chairs were across from the entrance, sitting in front of a cold fire place. There were no pictures on the mantel and the only ones hanging were the prints of flowers which have been massively reproduced and go in new homes before they are truly lived in. I finally let my eyes settle on Jeanne-Marie. Her codename was Aurora but I normally just called her Marie. Though her hair was black as her brothers hers was looking dishevelled, left to go wildly about her face. Clearly the wild side of her personality was in charge. I could feel the conflicted energy rippling through her person, mute evidence expressed by her trembling fingers which held a pen while she tried to do a word search. On a closer look I found she wasn't really doing the word search but letting the pen move and create erratic lines. Settling myself on the couch across from her I focused on calm lassitude, the feeling enveloped me and with further concentration expanded outward filling the room. The people behind me at the entryway all relaxed, their own emotions now muted by my influence. Jeanne-Marie took a steadying breath, her hand now moving in slower loops, creating small patterns. This was a good beginning sign. "Hello, Marie. It's good to see you again." I said with a practiced calm. Chapter 4: An Evening of Surprises Through out the next half hour Marie and I talked. I found out that Marie had been living a normal life much like me for the past few months but her desire for adventure kept getting in the way. She wanted to be Aurora again. The resulting repression of those desires coupled with the stress of trying to work things out with a male caller became too much. The extroverted side over took Marie and she had went on the offensive, stopping J-walkers, muggers, arsonists, many of whom were innocent but in Marie's warped mind had been guilty of crime. Luckily there were no fatalities. The calm influence I held led her to clearer thinking, it was as if my mind was sewing an emotional patchwork quilt that had been torn and now needed fixing. As my mild questions about her ideas on morality and justice for law breakers forced her into a continual internal struggle, I was simultaneously building the path for her to walk which I knew was very close to Marie's personal beliefs when she was well. Finally, she grew tired so JP and I walked her upstairs to bed, promising that we'd both be there in the morning. After checking my messages at home I slowly ambled up the stairs again to the bedroom JP had indicated was mine. Opening the door I found the very same person on the bed with his hands clasped behind his head. He was nude. I hungrily peered at his hard body, his muscled legs spread teasingly, the rise and fall of his wash board abs as he breathed as calmly as if we were still a couple and this was still a natural occurrence. I was painfully aware of my erection tenting my grey suit pants. I hadn't had sex in a good 10 months. I was never into one night stands, I relied heavily on intimacy and those kinds of guys never got it; but JP knew. JP knew far too well. God damn you JP. "Like what you see bebee?" JP's voice was soft, a secretive naughty whisper tight with sexual desire which flooded my senses like blood in shark infested water. Just to provoke me further JP rolled on to his sinewy stomach to expose his tight round rump. The dark tan of his back ending at the very edge of modesty, the softer white skin of his tight back end was unblemished, the small dimples above each thigh giving it a juicy, swollen look that I could never really resist. Easing over to the bed I sat down next to him, his excitement went up another notch as he thought he had me. To be honest I couldn't tell if he had me or I him. My hand hovered over his back, from neck to tail bone before meeting the smooth skin in a familiar caress. Traveling over the curve while fingers slipped into the cleft of soft sensitive skin. Pins and needles of pleasure showered over my mind as I heard JP give a soft sigh. "So you're now paying me with sex for my services?" Where the fuck had that come from? I knew where. That small place of resentment that this reminder of our old relationship brought up. There was a sensation of coldness engulfing and removing all connection to me, I hated my gift when it came to stuff like this. How can you be honest with a loved one if you feel the damage you do in being honest? Yet another issue we had. In a series of blurs and air shifts JP was pulling on his pants and his shirt hung off his shoulders. "Fine... you don't want to-fine." Suddenly, from somewhere outside I felt the narrowing of a mind in intense focus, of aggressive intent. This sensation quickly spread to other individuals whose energy signature hit me with a shiver. The broken sentences I gleaned in a moment told me all I needed to know. I tried to process the information. In another moment I felt Wolverines senses pick up and grow territorial. I knew the members of Alpha Flight who were there. Shaman, Snowbird and Sasquatch were sleeping and I knew if they weren't up now, it would be too late for their reaction time to make up for the trained soldiers already approaching the doors and windows. The look I gave JP was enough to silence him, his eyes glanced from side to side as he felt the tension expand for a completely different reason. "You need to wake them." He whispered quickly, his costume already half on as he whisked to the door then down the stairs. Clearly his faster reflexes allowed him to take in and process all kinds of situations quicker. That gave me an idea. What if I sped up the sleeping members reaction time? Where would I get the level of concentration they'd need to have a fighting chance? Wait, I could use the invading forces attitude against them! I heard a window smash and suddenly the aggressive force of energy blazed like a gas can thrown in a bonfire. Concentrating, I drew this energy and focus into myself while simultaneously reaching out, flowing beyond walls and ceiling to the sleeping members who were now in danger. Touching their resting minds I released the emotional framework I had absorbed with a white hot command. [Wake up!] I felt and heard the sudden revved shift of every ones minds as I commanded their mind to shift from REM to not just fully awake, but enhanced, psyched up wakefulness. The kind you get from anticipation, and fear for life. In my minds eye I saw Sasquatch shift to his beast form and the roar he let out sent fear as well as indecision through the invading forces. That was quickly supplanted by the urge to meet the challenge and not show fear. Snowbird shifted as well, to the form of a large white wolf, the enhanced senses better for this kind of unplanned fight. I felt a blur of familiar go through my senses. Aurora was back up and ready to fight. I scanned her with some worry only to find that she was still holding herself together but another talk would be warranted for later. The house rang with fighting, stun guns were shot, flash bombs were lighting up the downstairs, shouts and the occasional scream echoed up the stairs or through the floor. I stood in my room, a bit of a tension headache starting to hammer in my head as loud as my heart was in my chest. I hated this sensation. It was as if my brain had been stretched like a rubbed band and when it was let go it snapped together inside my skull vibrating with the collision it had with itself. While rubbing my temples I kept enough of an outward awareness to tell how things were going. Wolverine was being over whelmed with the constant tranquilizer being pumped into him, his healing factor not being able to clear it fast enough. I groaned with the effort as I sent a shock of wakefulness his way, I felt it light him up long enough so that he could find cover and give himself a chance to recover. The resulting throb in my skull felt like my brain tried to drop kick my skull. Nausea fell over me and I sank heavily onto the bed. Taking slow breaths I sent another radar pass over the area. Wolverine was about to go back to work on the soldiers who now had a foot hold at the back door connected to the kitchen. Snowbird was outside and taking out the perimeter while also trying to catch intelligence from the leader who held back with a small contingent of soldiers. Sasquach was holding the main foyer, the front porch already been over run but it looked like he was pushing them back. Flashes of JP and Marie told me they were running the rest of the house to put out fires, take care of any flanking positions which were trying to be established by sneaking in windows etc. The attacking force was certainly shrinking as more of them collapsed in injury or unconsciousness. I hadn't felt a death chime yet which I was shocked about, Wolverine's claws aren't exactly life-friendly. Neither was Sasquach in his bestial form either. By now my vision was swimming with auras that blurred the very center of my sight. I could tell however, there was someone standing in the doorframe. With some alarm I realized I didn't recognize them. It was a soldier who somehow made it past Sasquach. I felt more than saw him train his stun rifle at me. After the fight he had to get in here I couldn't really begrudge him not taking chances. I was so exhausted from today, I wasn't sure if I really had anything left to defend myself with. I fought through the pain wracking my skull to find some clarity, my mind went to my basic training with how to deal with unruly students. Stay calm, be friendly but assertive. Take an interest with the person. Think before you act. Stall for time. If you see an opportunity only take it if the situation is dire. With a shuddering breath I put a confident smile on my face. "Hi there. Not going very well for your guys out there eh?" I felt the ripple of indecision as he took a step into the room. Still completely confident with his weapon trained on me. His alertness was still leaning toward shoot rather than speak. I had to try again. "Trust me, my head is killing me right now. You really have nothing to fear from me. Say, you wouldn't have any advil on you by any chance?" "Are you a prisoner, or one of them?" Well, I got him to say something. I hesitated, running through my options. "Neither. Just a friend helping one of them out." That was close enough to the truth. It would buy me time as he reasoned with himself. I was focused on my breathing, deep and even breaths. The headache was starting to ease off enough so that I could think better. I didn't attempt to use my power on him. It was too chancy to try and alter his mind when the slightest twitch could decide if I was shot or not with that stun rifle. "Are you a human sympathizer or a mutant?" From the feelings rolling off him, I knew a rogue mutant had done something to people he had loved. An echo of that death chime could still be felt in him. He was holding onto them rather than letting go. Being a soldier against mutants meant he never had to complete his revenge, he could always carry it out again and again. Taking a deep breath, I looked at him with compassion. "Whoever you lost, wouldn't want you to lose your life to something as destructive as this. Living beyond the pain, not putting yourself through it over and over again, this is what you can do." I know my words struck something inside him, unfortunately he was too well trained to let it effect him. Instead he clicked on his radio with one hand while the other levelled his rifle at me. "Sir, we have a confirmed psionic mutant, properties unknown. This thing must be how they knew...It seems to have over taxed itself...Agreed, no need to take the risk...Lethal voltage confirmed." Clicking off the radio his hand moved to the side of the rifle, the whole weapon hummed as a higher charge was set. I felt him confirm with himself the identity of the mutant with me, his own way of making murder easier. Everything was set for my death, it all seemed so final. So completely done. There was no chance to beg for my life, to look through my past and say good bye to those I loved. I had the general feeling of anguish and fear coming across me when suddenly the high emotions in the room lit up before my eyes. The soldier was lit in righteous gold and an ugly blood red of hate. I was awash in blues and wafts of black. In a gesture I could only describe as a push I sent all of this energy into the guard. I think I shouted "No" or "Stop" or something. I wasn't paying attention to that. What I saw had me in complete awe. The energy drove itself inside the soldier like lightning, causing him to stiffen up from emotional and sensational over load. His eyes rolled up in his head, his fingers stiffened to the point of popping out of joint. In the next moment he was sprawled on the floor, his rifle tucked under his body, safely pointed away from me. The pain which wracked my brain at that point was unbearable, at one point I'm certain I went blind. With the darkness looming into my vision I fell across the bed in a heap, too exhausted to keep myself up any longer. In what felt like a split second I heard voices coming towards me, emotion rippled across my senses. Victory, satisfaction, blood lust, worry, shock, suspicion and the suddenly a blast of fear. Fear for me. With a half groan I realized none of these emotions were mind, I was too weak to keep my defences up and now everything was pooling inside me. With my first noise and movement, relief spread about me. Clearly whoever was standing over me realized I was alive. Then something cool was pressed against my forehead, cold shivers rippled through my skull, it felt good. "Mmm" I groaned softly. "He's waking up." "Good, had he been under any longer there might have been cause to worry. Still, it would be best if I gave him a check up when he's fully conscious." "What did he do to this guy? He looks like he's frozen yet he's still breathing. His eyes aren't even adjusting to the light. He's not aware of anything." "Interesting. Looks like a complete neural overload of his system. I didn't know you're old lover had it in him Jean." "He's stronger than he looks Sasquatch, I've known that since we first met." "I'll take that as a compliment.." I murmured softly, wincing as the sound of my voice broke waves of pain inside my skull. "Ow." Feelings of pride, love, pain, regret, and speculative curiosity. Oh how I wish I could concentrate enough to put my guard up, the sheer force of will to do so however made my head hurt more. "Does any have any advil? This headache is killing me." I still hadn't opened my eyes, and I didn't intend to while the light was still on. In a few moments I felt someone press two pills into my hand, I instantly put them both in my mouth and was handed a glass of water. I carefully tipped the glass toward me, pulling in some water I swallowed the pills. A few drops escaped my mouth and slid down my cheek. As the glass was lifted from my hand JP, I knew those hands anywhere, wiped the water drops away. "Uhm, things seem to be safe for now. We'll leave you two alone to get some sleep. In the morning we can decide on a few...things." Sasquatch was troubled but he was also curious. In fact there was a lot of re-evaluating going on and most of it was directed towards me. I didn't like that one bit. Either way though they all left the room, taking the burned out guard with them. Only Jean Paul was left. He quickly turned out the lights, refreshed my cold compress and opened a window to let the cool night air in. He knew how I got rid of my migraines. Unfortunately he remembered every detail. His sure hands pulled open my shirt and my pants, gently sliding them off my body. Those hands who knew me so well, rubbed each sore spot till I groaned in release. The headache was beginning to fade thanks to the Advil and JP's handiwork. The images of love making were at the top of JP's mind, slipping into mine as easily as water into a bucket. In spite of myself I got hard. However nothing would happen tonight. JP laid down beside me, nude as well and held me while I fell asleep, dreams passed between us of better times. Each one tinged with regret. It was like Hamlet and Ophelia, their love was something meant to be but sadly events made it impossible to survive. I could only hope neither of us ended up crazy. Well that is the beginning! What do you all think? Constructive criticism please, this is the first story I've written in a long time and the first I have ever put out for people to read. I hope you like it and I will be writing more soon! This is just the opening of the events to set the stage so to speak; there will be more x-men favourites coming in the next few chapters. Please feel free to email me at jdangel87@hotmail.com.