Tales Of a Young Mutant-

Chapter 1-The Dream

I am in a dream. One that has haunted me since the incident. I am in a long hallway. I hear screaming and shouting. My mom. She's fighting something off. I want to help. I run towards the doorway. I see my mom and my dad and a figure, shrouded completely in black. I try to help, but I cannot help them. I cannot touch them. My mom and dad. They are being sucked completely dry of their blood and I can't even touch them. He turns to me and then he walks through me, out the door. And I cry and I cry, but there was nothing I could do.

"Joshua? Joshua?" I wake up to Kara's voice. "Joshua, Ms. Bennett is here to take you to the Xavier School. Joshua?" she says. She seems concerned. I touch my face and I realize that I have been crying in my sleep, not just in my dream. "Joshua, are you all right?"

"Um, yeah, I'm okay." I lie, trying not to raise any additional concern. I look over at the alarm clock next to my bed, the one that was supposed to have gone off already. It's 12:00 noon already.

"Okay," she says and leaves me to get myself dressed. I am still able to hear her thoughts as she leaves.

<That poor kid. Must be horrible. After what he's been through and he's having nightmares about it.>

I can't exactly say she didn't know what I was going through. But I'm wondering if I know. There has always been something funny about that nightmare. I sometimes wonder if it was just a nightmare.

I push those thoughts to the back of my head and get dressed for my visit to the Xavier School. Ms. Bennett talks to me about some stuff, but I don't really pay attention. Telling me about just going for orientation, and the center only wants what's best for me, and blah, blah, blah. All I an help think about is the changes that have happened to me recently.

For starters, only a few months ago, my family moved away from Louisiana, our hometown, in an attempt to shield me from the knowledge that I was adopted. I had known for a while, but didn't choose to talk about it. We arrived in California, in Los Angeles, and I had to suffer going to a new school, where it only took a little rumor, that happened to be true, and the whole school knew I was gay.

Joshua Munroe. The new gay kid. Luckily I could talk to my parents about it. Well, my adoptive parents, at any rate. They did understand. And my brother, well you know adoptive brother, he didn't have a problem with it either.

He always said, " Take it from me, little bro, if people don't like you the way you are, then don't give them a second thought."

I was going to talk to my parents and my brother about it when I returned from school. But when I returned from school, my parents were dead. And my brother was nowhere to be found. I called the paramedics, hoping that they could do something to help, and just because it seemed like the right thing to do. The paramedics arrived, but were vampires. That when Batman saved me. He dusted both vampires and waited nearby until the REAL police and paramedics came. It was during the wait that I had that dream the first time. But I don't think it was a dream anymore. I wonder if it could have been a vision of what had happened.

The next day I was taken to a psychiatrist, Eric McCoy, who I discussed my parent's death with, and he figured out I was gay. He told me that he was too, and we talked some more. It was fun.

I got a foster family and went to another new school, but I had the same problem as the first one, and my new brother wasn't much of a help either. He practically fed me to the wolves.

And then I found out I was able to hear other people's thoughts.

That night I snuck out of my new home, but it was really scary along the streets, especially with all the scary thoughts in my head. Then two vampires who wanted molest me and drink my blood came after me. Batman rescued me again. I helped a little, when I discovered another power--I am also telekinetic. That night I discovered batman was Eric. He told me to go home and I did. He arranged this meeting between me and Professor Xavier. I only saw Eric one other time, when he left LA. I still remember our last conversation.

"Take care of yourself Joshua. And help take care of this city. It needs people like you who can understand the underdog, those who are trodden underfoot by the so-called elite. You can be a great force to this city. Always remember to take care of those who don't know how and don't have the strength to take care of themselves."

So I will. And that starts now. This is the beginning. for now I have arrived at the Xavier school.

Questions? Comments? Send them to jas931@hotmail.com.