This was just an idea I got while I was reading some X-Men OC FF, don't hate! D:
This will be post X1, but completely AU from there.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-men, if I did, there would be more M&T-rated shit in it.
Enjoy.
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Cain sat with both of his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them as if he was trying to awkwardly hug himself, his black eyes stared longingly into the night, not really focusing on anything in particular. It was a cold night in Southern Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and his spot on the roof was getting colder by the second. A sudden gust of cold autumn wind forced him away from his train of thoughts and back to reality. The 16 year old boy sighed deeply as he forced himself to stand up and enter his bedroom through the open window beside him. The dark room greeted its occupant with an eerie silence and immediately wrapped the boy in a blanket of nonchalant darkness. With near-robotic movements Cain began to remove his clothes, it had been a long day indeed. With a loud ‘thump’ he let himself hit the madras of his bed and he sighed in pure bliss at the feeling of the warm bed against his skin. For a while, Cain simply stared at his ceiling without thinking of anything in particular, but far too soon for his liking, the question of the X-Men began to fill his mind and the boy groaned as he turned and hid his face in his pillow.
Cain Withers was a mutant, a powerful one if one was to believe the professor who send him that damned letter, Professor Xavier or something in that direction, but he had probably told all of his ‘students’ that just to soften them up before he collected them. Cain had awakened the so called ‘X-Gene’ when he was 14, and now, 2 years later; this Xavier dude was apparently ready to take him in. The man had thrown some lame apology about not being able to locate him his way, but Cain didn’t buy it, it was too convenient to be true.
“This is bullshit.”
He mumbled softly into his pillow. Why the hell did this Xavier guy have to contact him now? The incidents at his school had gotten worse during the last couple of weeks. The timing was simply too convenient to be a coincidence. Cain gritted his teeth and felt the energy within him twist in anticipation, it was like his gift had a life of its own, always acting like some kind of primal instinct. He sneered into his pillow, and with a disgusted snort the teenager climbed out of his bed, he wouldn’t get any sleep anyway, he could feel it. The boy starred helplessly at his room in search of some kind of distraction and his eyes fell on his computer, he smirked in anticipation and slid into his swivel.
Cain was what people would call a ‘geek’ he loved to role-play and read manga, he found glee in games and books where others would find nothing. As he waited for the computer to start, Cain leaned backwards in his comfortable chair and placed his hands behind his head as he thought about how he had received the letter earlier that day.
Flashback
Cain had just gotten out of bed and was halfway into the bathroom when he heard his mother calling
“Cain! You’ve got mail!”
Her shrill voice cut through the half-awake boy’s consciousness and made him jump slightly in surprise.
“Coming mom!”
With a shrug, the boy left his shower for later and walked into the kitchen, where a nice and official-looking envelope was laying proudly on the table. Making his way past his mother, who was busy preparing breakfast, Cain grabbed the envelope and glanced at it. The front of the envelope was adorned with a big X that seemed to read around the envelope like a seal of some sort, it looked rather cool in his opinion. With a single rip, he opened the envelope and a neatly folded piece of paper was released from its captivity. Snatching it in mid-air, the boy unfolded it and began to read.
Dear Mr. Withers
As you may know you are one of the few people on this planet in possession of the rare ‘X-Gene’, this gift comes with great responsibility and power and it has both advantages and disadvantages. As a young ‘mutant’, you may have experienced fear and even contempt from your peers, and it is perfectly understandable to feel put out by the reactions of the people you call friends. In Westchester County, New York, lies a school for gifted youngsters, and gifted you are indeed Mr. Withers, you have a gift that many would pay dearly for, but sadly, some people fear these gifts. This letter is your invitation to join this school, Mr. Withers; it is a chance to meet people your age who have faced the same problems as yourself and understands what it is like to be a ‘mutant’. Normally, you would receive this latter at the age of 13-14, but technicalities left me unable to find you and for that I apologize. You do not need to answer this letter, no matter what your initial response is, a few teachers and myself will arrive at your home the day after you receive this letter and explain what the school is in further details. The choice will be completely up to you, Mr. Withers. If you have not told your parents about your gift, do not despair, another letter has arrived addressed to your parents, containing an invitation to attend a private boarding school in New York. We hope to see you at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Professor Charles Xavier, Principal of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Cain looked at the letter in disbelief, his mouth hanging open in complete and utter surprise. He knew that there were other mutants, of course, but a whole academy? And in New York to top it off! He quickly closed his mouth and frowned, why would these people contact him now of all times, did they know about his father? Did they know about the incidents at school? Without wasting a second, Cain hid the letter in one of the pockets in his trousers and walked as calmly as he could towards his room, he mumbled a barely audible answer to his mom when he heard her ask about the letter in an uncertain tone.
In the safety of his room, Cain locked the door and collapsed onto his bed with a dull thump and a groan. What was he supposed to tell his mom? She hardly acknowledged the fact that he was a mutant, much less accepted it. After dad left them, she had begun to blame all the world’s problems on the X-Gene, she didn’t exactly hate him, she simply couldn’t stand his mutation, or any mutation for that matter.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
he whispered softly at no one in particular
“Mom didn’t mention anything about an invitation to a boarding school, not that she would, anyway.”
Cain sighed and fumbled for the remote for his stereo. If he was going to be depressed, he might as well be depressed to the right kind of music. With the barest of a touch he pressed ‘play’ and the sound of Three Days Grace made its way to his ears.
Flashback end
Cain typed in his password and the computer immediately forwarded him to his desktop, he didn’t do anything at first, he was still thinking about the letter, about his gift and about his parents. The professor had mentioned something about another letter in case he hadn’t told his parents, Cain snorted slightly, how anyone could ever manage to keep their gift a secret from their own parents was a mystery to him. Cain’s parents had discovered his gift the same time he had; it had been some kind of morbid, mutual discovery that changed all of their lives.
One morning, Cain had simply woken up with a strange ache in his back, but he had shrugged it off and gone to the kitchen for some breakfast. There he was met with the sight of his father dropping his coffee and staring at him in disbelief and to some extent, horror, and with good reason; his son’s spine was wagging like a tail, fully visible and in the exact same position as a tail would be. His father’s initial reaction, after the starring had been surprising, he hadn’t said much, he had just smiled at Cain and told him that he would call his mother and they would talk it out. For a few precious moments it seemed like everything would be alright. But Cain hadn’t been as lucky as he had hoped for; his mother had barely entered the house before his father began to scream at her. In his opinion, she had given birth to a monster, a demon, an abnormality.
Cain’s father was religious, not fanatically so, but more than enough to firmly believe in hell, heaven, angels and demons. His mother had cried, she had apologized and begged for him to forgive her, not even for a second did she stop to consider that it wasn’t her fault, that it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Hours later his father had calmed down, his anger had, for the most parts, receded, but he had firmly stated that if he ever saw any sign of ‘demonic powers’ in his home again, he would leave, just like that. Cain was 14 at that time, he was rebellious and angry, so he decided to train his gift in secret, where his father would never notice.
The next two years were strained, awkward and confusing; Cain’s mother became rather silent, she never really spoke more than a few words to anyone. Cain’s father, on the other hand, became a sneering loudmouth who constantly shared his anti-mutant opinions with anyone who cared to listen, and even those who didn’t. Cain retreated into himself, he stopped talking, he stopped laughing and he stopped socializing. He buried himself in his studies and training, and with his newfound loner attitude he was quickly labeled as the school’s freak, not because of his powers, no, nobody knew about those apart from his mom and dad. No, Cain was labeled a freak simply because he was different, like all other freaks. Cain was very interested in psychology; he didn’t understand why people could hate other people like his dad did with the mutants. How could anyone hate a fellow human merely because he or she was different?
Half a year before the letter arrived, Cain’s father caught him testing his powers in his room, the ******* left without a word; he never showed his face near Cain or his mother again. The extra stress and sorrow was too much for Cain’s mother, she became sickly and weak; she constantly cried and was unable to communicate normally with her son, she simply couldn’t help but blame him a little bit for her husband’s departure. Mother and son began to avoid each other, only communicating through the occasional yell, question or one-worded reply.
Cain shook his head to push the unpleasant memories away. It didn’t matter if his mother knew it was a school for mutants, she wouldn’t rat them out to the government, she hadn’t sunken that low yet and the doctor had said that she only had a few months left. Cain closed his eyes and allowed a single sob to escape him, but he brutally pushed the revolting emotions away as he focused on his computer. He knew the machine wasn’t the answer, but a single night of escapism wouldn’t hurt anyone would it? Cain thought he had deserved that much; it wasn’t every day your former friends threw rocks at your window for being a freak. He’d had enough; it was time to leave this damned city.
Cain woke up to the sight of his ceiling somehow starring mockingly at him, his neck felt stiff and he could hear his computer humming, he must have fallen asleep. The young mutant got up from his chair and stretched sleepily; he yawned and scratched the back of his head as a somewhat curious glint appeared in his eyes. Today was the day, today; he would leave all of this behind.
Breakfast was a tedious matter; neither he nor his mother said a single word during the meal. The nod he send her and the ghost of a smile she sent him was the only evidence that the two had even noticed each other’s presence and Cain immediately raced to his room to pack once the dishes were taken care of.
As the morning slowly turned to noon, Cain began to feel very nervous, not just butterflies-in-my-stomach nervous, but dead-nervous, he felt this sense of dread and heard a little voice in the back of his mind, telling him how the letter and this whole chance of escaping was just a cruel prank. He shifted nervously in his bed and began to fiddle with his luggage; he needed something to distract him, if only for a few moments before those teachers would arrive, if they actually existed. After a few moments Cain managed to fish his black headphones and his IPod out of his luggage and with a simple press of a button, the sweet tones of Foo Fighters – The Pretender, began to fill his ears. Staring into the ceiling, the young mutant wondered if he would ever see this room again, or this house again for that matter.
Charles Xavier was a patient man, everyone knew that, he tried his very best to support mutant-rights through legal means, without the use of violence and he was always ready to offer young mutants a home and a school. Charles smiled himself as he thought about who he was supposed to meet today. Young Mr. Withers had been hard to find, for an unknown reason, he hadn’t been able to find him, even with the help of Cerebro, until recently, not that it mattered of course, the only thing that mattered was that the boy learned to control his powers instead of fearing them. No one should have to fear something they were born with. Suddenly, the big SUV he and his fellow X-Men had been driving in came to a halt and Charles looked at his driver, co-worker and former student, Scott Summers, for confirmation. The young man nodded once
“We’re here professor.”
"Ah, yes, let us go meet young Mr. Withers shall we?”
With the simple press of a button, Xavier, sitting comfortable in his wheelchair, was lowered down onto the sidewalk of a very normal-looking neighborhood. Charles idly noted that not a single thing looked out of place, it was as if everything had its specific spot, it was actually a bit discomforting.
“Professor?” He heard his other student, Ororo Munroe, ask. “Is this the correct address?”
Charles nodded once and the three began their short walk towards the Withers residence.
Scott rang the doorbell and the three X-Men patiently waited for someone to answer, it didn’t take long before a middle aged woman with mouse brown hair and a tired expression did just that. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the three and corner of her lip quavered a tiny bit before she carefully folded her face into a neutral expression.
“Withers residence. Can I help you?”
Scott and Ororo shared a look, the woman’s hands were trembling ever so slightly and her chest rose up and down in small wheezing breaths, she seemed very nervous but somehow managed to keep her face blank and her voice friendly. The professor merely smiled kindly at the woman, seemingly ignoring her nervous twitches.
“Ah, yes, indeed you can. I am Professor Xavier from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. I am here to enquire about young Mr. Cain Withers; you did receive my letter did you not?”
The professor raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as the woman flinched at his question; she opened her mouth a few times before she managed to whisper.
“I.. No, you must have gotten the address wrong. I’m sorry, please leave.”
She moved to close the door when Scotts arm shot forward with almost unnatural speed and caught the door. Ororo could somewhat understand what the woman was seemingly going through and immediately smiled and tried to calm her.
“Don’t worry; we’re not here to harm you. Just let us come in and we’ll speak to Cain, ok? We will leave as soon as we’ve told him about the school, and you won’t ever have to see us again if you and your son don’t want to.”
Reluctantly, the woman nodded and stepped back from the doorframe, she motioned for them to come inside and all the X-Men complied quickly.
The first thing Scott noticed about the house was its colorless state; everything seemed to be grey, black or white. While the house had a somewhat cozy feeling to it, it felt distant and foreign, as if the feeling of home didn’t exactly belong here. The woman, who was obviously Mrs. Withers, led them into a nice sized living room where she pointed at a sofa and motioned for the guests to sit down.
“I-I’ll just go get Cain.”
She said uncertainly. She eyed the three X-men again before the side of her lip twitched and she left the room to find her son. As her footsteps became distant Scott and Ororo let out a frustrated and tired sigh respectively, the professor send them an amused look.
“Tired already I see? You seemed to be in high spirits when we left this morning.”
He said with a smile in his eyes. Scott leaned forwards in the couch and shrugged slightly
“I just wish that we would be welcomed with a smile or a friendly gesture for once. I can understand why the parents are nervous and confused when their child is shown to be a mutant, but it’s beyond me why they sneer at us when we try to help them.”
Scott made to continue but Ororo spoke before he had the chance.
“So, do we know anything about the boy, Professor?”
Xavier nodded,
“Yes, Cain Withers is a 1st year High School student. His overall average is above most of his peers. Cain seems to be average at most Science-related subjects, while his grades in subjects like history, psychology and most languages are near perfect. He-…”
“Hello.”
Scott and Ororo jumped at the sound of the new voice and turned to see a teenage boy standing in an adjacent doorway. The boy was wearing a baggy, white tee shirt with an orange splash-print that read ‘Taiho’, his dark jeans were torn slightly and a pair of jet-black headphones hung around his neck. The boy had plain features and his face seemed to be set in a permanent bored expression. His eyes were a dull mixture of green and grey and his whole face seemed to scream disinterest. Overall, the boy looked like someone who didn’t laugh much, someone who could send a clear message with a raised eyebrow or a simple look.
“Ah, you must be Cain Withers. I am Professor Charles Xavier; it’s nice to meet you, Cain.”
The boy, no identified as Cain, nodded once before he slumped into a chair beside Scott.
“So, I presume you are the so-called ‘teachers’ from the mutant school?”
he said mockingly. Scott thought he heard a vague whimper and a couple of retreating footsteps at Cain’s comment, but shrugged it off as nothing.
“Indeed, Mr. Withers, we are. I have already presented myself, but these two are my fellow teachers on the institute, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe,”
Charles motioned towards his two former students respectively as he presented them.
“I’m sure you’ll get to know each other very well if you choose to accept a place on my school.”
Cain winced at the title.
“Please, call me Cain, Mr. Withers was my father.”
Scott raised an eyebrow and was about to ask ‘was?’, but a look from his former teacher stopped him in his tracks. Cain, obvious to their silent conversation, continued to speak.
“But anyway, when do we leave?”
“Leave? I had the impression that you wished to ponder your choice further.”
Cain shook his head softly.
“There’s nothing left for me here, professor. Dad’s gone, the ****er. Mom’s dying and ignoring me, and this town means nothing to me. I just want to get out of here. Please?”
He replied in a mixture between a sad and tired tone. The Professors brows furrowed
“I am sorry to hear that, Cain, I really am.”
Cain almost scoffed but he managed to stop himself. The man was just trying to help, of that Cain was sure, but his pity wasn’t needed. His institution on the other hand, was.
“I’ve already packed my bags and left a note telling my mother where I’m going. I just want to get out of here.”
Cain sent the Professor the closest thing he had to a begging glance.
“I don’t mean to sound like a kid, professor, but I feel like I’m suffocating in this house.”
Ororo Munroe was curious. Just a few minutes ago the three X-men had left the Withers residence, now with a young man accompanying them. There had been no heartbreaking farewells when they left the house, no crying and no smiling, there had been a single nod towards the kitchen where Mrs. Withers presumably was and a look that asked the three X-men to just go with it. Ororo was initially against letting the boy leave without saying goodbye to his mother, but Cain seemed to know what he was doing, and not even once did Mrs. Withers come out from the kitchen. Nothing seemed to have changed with the boys’ departure, nobody seemed to care and it was breaking her heart.
Ororo sat down beside the boy in the SUV, there was no music or useless chattering, just an awkward silence that begged to be broken. Out of the corner of her eye Ororo saw Cain put his black headphones on as he fumbled with a black IPod. Soon, the faint sound of a piano could be heard in the car, only audible because of the uncomfortable silence.
“Do you mind if we listen in?”
She heard Scott ask and at Cain’s confused expression he repeated the question a bit louder. Cain’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly unhooked the IPod from the headphones. With a small embarrassed smile the boy handed the IPod to Scott, who connected it to the cars stereo.
“I… I don’t know if you like this type of music.”
Cain muttered and Ororo smiled.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a kid your age listening to that kind of music. Do you play?”
“Yeah,”
Cain nodded,
“I’ve had lessons since I was six.”
Ororo smiled softly at the boy. The soft tunes of a piano quickly filled the car before silence could, and Ororo found herself becoming lost in the music. The piece was beautiful; it told stories of sadness and loss, but also of passion and love. Ororo wasn’t the only one becoming lost in the music; Cain’s eyes had become distant, even from her angle she could see that he was deep in thought.
“Do you want to see my power?”
His voice interrupted her observance and she had to ask him to repeat the question.
“Do you want to see my power? I can imagine that most of your students want to show other mutants their powers for one reason or another and I’d like to see what the three of you can do, too.”
To Ororo’s surprise, Scott chuckled.
“I don’t think you’d want Storm and I to show off our powers here, they aren’t exactly designed to be used indoor. I’m sure she would like to tell you her power herself, but I can shoot laser out of my eyes, I can’t really control it so I have to wear glasses.”
Cain seemed surprised with the answer and shot a questioning glance at Scott’s back. Ororo raised an eyebrow at him and decided to enlighten him.
“I’m Storm by the way; most of the people at the School have some kind of nickname that describes their powers.”
“No, no, that’s not it; I’m just surprised that Mr. Summers can’t control his power.”
Cain mumbled loud enough for Storm to hear it. She shot the boy a calculating look and decided that a little lecture was in order.
“Most mutants can control their power up to some extent, but some abilities simply can’t be controlled, it’s not something that we have any control over, sadly.”
Cain seemed to contemplate her answer for a while and she used the temporary silence to continue her explanation.
“Your ability matures along with your body, so most young mutants don’t have much control over their power. But like I said, some abilities simply can’t be completely controlled. That’s why some mutants are labeled as dangerous; because they’re unable to control their own powers.”
Unnoticed by her, the Professor had gradually begun to smile as she went into ‘teacher’ mode without even noticing it. Cain’s facial expression had gone from contemplating to frowning as Ororo’s explanation grew more detailed, she continued to explain the process of mutants maturing and their powers ‘evolving’ during their lifetime. Busy as she was with her lecture, she was caught completely off-guard when Cain suddenly interrupted her.
“What is the average level of control?”
Short and precise as his question was, it still interrupted Storm’s rant and she frowned at the rude interruption.
“Maybe you could show us your level of control Mr. Withers and we’ll assess where you stand.”
The professor, who had remained silent and observing during Cain and Storm’s conversation, offered. Cain nodded quickly and began to explain.
“My power is complete control of my body, I seem to be able to control all the cells in my body and dictate their behavior individually. I can’t turn into liquid or anything like that, but stuff like healing, growing new limbs, manipulating my skeleton and stuff like that, that’s what I do.”
Ororo’s eyes grew wide over the course of the explanation, had it been bone manipulation or healing it would’ve been a simple and straightforward power like most of the students on the School. But absolute control? The idea was incredible and scary at the same time. A strong power like that needed a strong wielder to keep it under control; she could only hope that Cain could learn to control it.
“I can’t just grow an organ out of nowhere; the energy has to come from somewhere. I haven’t figured out what my energy is yet, or where it comes from, but if I try to grow something or make something out of nothing, I can feel myself becoming tired. The good thing is that I can absorb most organic material and convert it into energy in my body somehow, so if I just absorb the things I created after using them, I’m back to normal. It’s actually pretty awesome.”
Cain excitedly told them, his face had gone from impassive to almost childish in a matter of seconds as he talked about his gift. Ororo chuckled at his excitement; it was nice to see someone experimenting with their powers instead of making do with what they began with.
“I haven’t discovered the limit to my power yet, I’ve done all sorts of experiments! You should have seen the-…”
Suddenly, Cain’s mouth clapped shut and his eyes gleamed with an emotion Storm couldn’t quite identify. A brief silence settled in the car and Cain squirmed uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a bit excited, that’s all. Maybe I should just show you instead of rambling.”
Cain made to move his arm but suddenly turned towards the professor, seemingly awaiting confirmation. At the Professors smile and nod, he held his arm up and a look of concentration overtook his face. For a second it seemed like nothing would happen, not a single sound was heard in the car except for Cain’s controlled breathing. Ororo was about to ask Cain if something had gone wrong, when a disgusting crack was heard.
Without warning, bones began to grow out of Cain’s arm and started to intervene with each other as a shape began to take form. Ororo squinted to make out the details of the figure, but it quickly became clearer and more detailed when more bones joined the creation. The result was amazing.
Cain had created a woman entirely out of bones, her marble-white bone skin seemed glow and her shape and curves were scarily realistic. Her body seemed to be made out of a single bone, not even detail looked out of place, but the most impressive thing was her hair. The figurines hair was also made out of bone, but it seemed to be made of so many microscopic pieces that it retained the properties of normal hair and as Cain breathed down on her, it swayed beautifully. The bone-woman was created in standing position with her arms held in front of her and her head tilted slightly sideways, her face showed anticipation, curiosity and friendliness.
Ororo stared at the creation in amazement; the sheer difficulty of making such a thing with one’s own bones was overwhelming. She had met sculptors who would kill to be able to make such a figurine in stone or clay, to make it out of bone was just about impossible. She was just about to voice her praise when the woman started to, in lack of better words; melt. The woman’s face distorted into a grimace and her arms went limp as she fell down onto her knees, in the end, the figurine fell on all fours and her hair hung in front of her face, hiding most of it from view, but Ororo could still make out the pleading look in her face as she fully sunk back into Cain’s arm.
“Eva is my creation, she was my first experiment and she has only improved over time. She’s perfect.”
Cain’s voice was low and loaded with emotion, he stared at his arm with longing in his eyes, but as soon as he noticed Ororo staring at him, his eyes went stony.
“She’s something I made up, nothing more, nothing less.”
Ororo’s head was in turmoil, the way Cain had looked at the figurine had been puzzling. No, puzzling wasn’t the right word, it had been unnerving. Not knowing quite what to say to the boy, Ororo decided to stay silent, and apparently, so did the rest of the car’s occupants. The rest of the trip towards the airport was spend in complete silence, the only sound coming from the car and the piano on Cain’s IPod.
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Thanks for reading, feedback is appreciated! ^_^
-Zero
This will be post X1, but completely AU from there.
Disclaimer: I don't own X-men, if I did, there would be more M&T-rated shit in it.
Enjoy.
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Cain sat with both of his legs pulled up to his chest, his arms wrapped around them as if he was trying to awkwardly hug himself, his black eyes stared longingly into the night, not really focusing on anything in particular. It was a cold night in Southern Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, and his spot on the roof was getting colder by the second. A sudden gust of cold autumn wind forced him away from his train of thoughts and back to reality. The 16 year old boy sighed deeply as he forced himself to stand up and enter his bedroom through the open window beside him. The dark room greeted its occupant with an eerie silence and immediately wrapped the boy in a blanket of nonchalant darkness. With near-robotic movements Cain began to remove his clothes, it had been a long day indeed. With a loud ‘thump’ he let himself hit the madras of his bed and he sighed in pure bliss at the feeling of the warm bed against his skin. For a while, Cain simply stared at his ceiling without thinking of anything in particular, but far too soon for his liking, the question of the X-Men began to fill his mind and the boy groaned as he turned and hid his face in his pillow.
Cain Withers was a mutant, a powerful one if one was to believe the professor who send him that damned letter, Professor Xavier or something in that direction, but he had probably told all of his ‘students’ that just to soften them up before he collected them. Cain had awakened the so called ‘X-Gene’ when he was 14, and now, 2 years later; this Xavier dude was apparently ready to take him in. The man had thrown some lame apology about not being able to locate him his way, but Cain didn’t buy it, it was too convenient to be true.
“This is bullshit.”
He mumbled softly into his pillow. Why the hell did this Xavier guy have to contact him now? The incidents at his school had gotten worse during the last couple of weeks. The timing was simply too convenient to be a coincidence. Cain gritted his teeth and felt the energy within him twist in anticipation, it was like his gift had a life of its own, always acting like some kind of primal instinct. He sneered into his pillow, and with a disgusted snort the teenager climbed out of his bed, he wouldn’t get any sleep anyway, he could feel it. The boy starred helplessly at his room in search of some kind of distraction and his eyes fell on his computer, he smirked in anticipation and slid into his swivel.
Cain was what people would call a ‘geek’ he loved to role-play and read manga, he found glee in games and books where others would find nothing. As he waited for the computer to start, Cain leaned backwards in his comfortable chair and placed his hands behind his head as he thought about how he had received the letter earlier that day.
Flashback
Cain had just gotten out of bed and was halfway into the bathroom when he heard his mother calling
“Cain! You’ve got mail!”
Her shrill voice cut through the half-awake boy’s consciousness and made him jump slightly in surprise.
“Coming mom!”
With a shrug, the boy left his shower for later and walked into the kitchen, where a nice and official-looking envelope was laying proudly on the table. Making his way past his mother, who was busy preparing breakfast, Cain grabbed the envelope and glanced at it. The front of the envelope was adorned with a big X that seemed to read around the envelope like a seal of some sort, it looked rather cool in his opinion. With a single rip, he opened the envelope and a neatly folded piece of paper was released from its captivity. Snatching it in mid-air, the boy unfolded it and began to read.
Dear Mr. Withers
As you may know you are one of the few people on this planet in possession of the rare ‘X-Gene’, this gift comes with great responsibility and power and it has both advantages and disadvantages. As a young ‘mutant’, you may have experienced fear and even contempt from your peers, and it is perfectly understandable to feel put out by the reactions of the people you call friends. In Westchester County, New York, lies a school for gifted youngsters, and gifted you are indeed Mr. Withers, you have a gift that many would pay dearly for, but sadly, some people fear these gifts. This letter is your invitation to join this school, Mr. Withers; it is a chance to meet people your age who have faced the same problems as yourself and understands what it is like to be a ‘mutant’. Normally, you would receive this latter at the age of 13-14, but technicalities left me unable to find you and for that I apologize. You do not need to answer this letter, no matter what your initial response is, a few teachers and myself will arrive at your home the day after you receive this letter and explain what the school is in further details. The choice will be completely up to you, Mr. Withers. If you have not told your parents about your gift, do not despair, another letter has arrived addressed to your parents, containing an invitation to attend a private boarding school in New York. We hope to see you at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Professor Charles Xavier, Principal of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.
Cain looked at the letter in disbelief, his mouth hanging open in complete and utter surprise. He knew that there were other mutants, of course, but a whole academy? And in New York to top it off! He quickly closed his mouth and frowned, why would these people contact him now of all times, did they know about his father? Did they know about the incidents at school? Without wasting a second, Cain hid the letter in one of the pockets in his trousers and walked as calmly as he could towards his room, he mumbled a barely audible answer to his mom when he heard her ask about the letter in an uncertain tone.
In the safety of his room, Cain locked the door and collapsed onto his bed with a dull thump and a groan. What was he supposed to tell his mom? She hardly acknowledged the fact that he was a mutant, much less accepted it. After dad left them, she had begun to blame all the world’s problems on the X-Gene, she didn’t exactly hate him, she simply couldn’t stand his mutation, or any mutation for that matter.
“What the hell am I supposed to do now?”
he whispered softly at no one in particular
“Mom didn’t mention anything about an invitation to a boarding school, not that she would, anyway.”
Cain sighed and fumbled for the remote for his stereo. If he was going to be depressed, he might as well be depressed to the right kind of music. With the barest of a touch he pressed ‘play’ and the sound of Three Days Grace made its way to his ears.
Flashback end
Cain typed in his password and the computer immediately forwarded him to his desktop, he didn’t do anything at first, he was still thinking about the letter, about his gift and about his parents. The professor had mentioned something about another letter in case he hadn’t told his parents, Cain snorted slightly, how anyone could ever manage to keep their gift a secret from their own parents was a mystery to him. Cain’s parents had discovered his gift the same time he had; it had been some kind of morbid, mutual discovery that changed all of their lives.
One morning, Cain had simply woken up with a strange ache in his back, but he had shrugged it off and gone to the kitchen for some breakfast. There he was met with the sight of his father dropping his coffee and staring at him in disbelief and to some extent, horror, and with good reason; his son’s spine was wagging like a tail, fully visible and in the exact same position as a tail would be. His father’s initial reaction, after the starring had been surprising, he hadn’t said much, he had just smiled at Cain and told him that he would call his mother and they would talk it out. For a few precious moments it seemed like everything would be alright. But Cain hadn’t been as lucky as he had hoped for; his mother had barely entered the house before his father began to scream at her. In his opinion, she had given birth to a monster, a demon, an abnormality.
Cain’s father was religious, not fanatically so, but more than enough to firmly believe in hell, heaven, angels and demons. His mother had cried, she had apologized and begged for him to forgive her, not even for a second did she stop to consider that it wasn’t her fault, that it wasn’t anybody’s fault. Hours later his father had calmed down, his anger had, for the most parts, receded, but he had firmly stated that if he ever saw any sign of ‘demonic powers’ in his home again, he would leave, just like that. Cain was 14 at that time, he was rebellious and angry, so he decided to train his gift in secret, where his father would never notice.
The next two years were strained, awkward and confusing; Cain’s mother became rather silent, she never really spoke more than a few words to anyone. Cain’s father, on the other hand, became a sneering loudmouth who constantly shared his anti-mutant opinions with anyone who cared to listen, and even those who didn’t. Cain retreated into himself, he stopped talking, he stopped laughing and he stopped socializing. He buried himself in his studies and training, and with his newfound loner attitude he was quickly labeled as the school’s freak, not because of his powers, no, nobody knew about those apart from his mom and dad. No, Cain was labeled a freak simply because he was different, like all other freaks. Cain was very interested in psychology; he didn’t understand why people could hate other people like his dad did with the mutants. How could anyone hate a fellow human merely because he or she was different?
Half a year before the letter arrived, Cain’s father caught him testing his powers in his room, the ******* left without a word; he never showed his face near Cain or his mother again. The extra stress and sorrow was too much for Cain’s mother, she became sickly and weak; she constantly cried and was unable to communicate normally with her son, she simply couldn’t help but blame him a little bit for her husband’s departure. Mother and son began to avoid each other, only communicating through the occasional yell, question or one-worded reply.
Cain shook his head to push the unpleasant memories away. It didn’t matter if his mother knew it was a school for mutants, she wouldn’t rat them out to the government, she hadn’t sunken that low yet and the doctor had said that she only had a few months left. Cain closed his eyes and allowed a single sob to escape him, but he brutally pushed the revolting emotions away as he focused on his computer. He knew the machine wasn’t the answer, but a single night of escapism wouldn’t hurt anyone would it? Cain thought he had deserved that much; it wasn’t every day your former friends threw rocks at your window for being a freak. He’d had enough; it was time to leave this damned city.
Cain woke up to the sight of his ceiling somehow starring mockingly at him, his neck felt stiff and he could hear his computer humming, he must have fallen asleep. The young mutant got up from his chair and stretched sleepily; he yawned and scratched the back of his head as a somewhat curious glint appeared in his eyes. Today was the day, today; he would leave all of this behind.
Breakfast was a tedious matter; neither he nor his mother said a single word during the meal. The nod he send her and the ghost of a smile she sent him was the only evidence that the two had even noticed each other’s presence and Cain immediately raced to his room to pack once the dishes were taken care of.
As the morning slowly turned to noon, Cain began to feel very nervous, not just butterflies-in-my-stomach nervous, but dead-nervous, he felt this sense of dread and heard a little voice in the back of his mind, telling him how the letter and this whole chance of escaping was just a cruel prank. He shifted nervously in his bed and began to fiddle with his luggage; he needed something to distract him, if only for a few moments before those teachers would arrive, if they actually existed. After a few moments Cain managed to fish his black headphones and his IPod out of his luggage and with a simple press of a button, the sweet tones of Foo Fighters – The Pretender, began to fill his ears. Staring into the ceiling, the young mutant wondered if he would ever see this room again, or this house again for that matter.
Charles Xavier was a patient man, everyone knew that, he tried his very best to support mutant-rights through legal means, without the use of violence and he was always ready to offer young mutants a home and a school. Charles smiled himself as he thought about who he was supposed to meet today. Young Mr. Withers had been hard to find, for an unknown reason, he hadn’t been able to find him, even with the help of Cerebro, until recently, not that it mattered of course, the only thing that mattered was that the boy learned to control his powers instead of fearing them. No one should have to fear something they were born with. Suddenly, the big SUV he and his fellow X-Men had been driving in came to a halt and Charles looked at his driver, co-worker and former student, Scott Summers, for confirmation. The young man nodded once
“We’re here professor.”
"Ah, yes, let us go meet young Mr. Withers shall we?”
With the simple press of a button, Xavier, sitting comfortable in his wheelchair, was lowered down onto the sidewalk of a very normal-looking neighborhood. Charles idly noted that not a single thing looked out of place, it was as if everything had its specific spot, it was actually a bit discomforting.
“Professor?” He heard his other student, Ororo Munroe, ask. “Is this the correct address?”
Charles nodded once and the three began their short walk towards the Withers residence.
Scott rang the doorbell and the three X-Men patiently waited for someone to answer, it didn’t take long before a middle aged woman with mouse brown hair and a tired expression did just that. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the three and corner of her lip quavered a tiny bit before she carefully folded her face into a neutral expression.
“Withers residence. Can I help you?”
Scott and Ororo shared a look, the woman’s hands were trembling ever so slightly and her chest rose up and down in small wheezing breaths, she seemed very nervous but somehow managed to keep her face blank and her voice friendly. The professor merely smiled kindly at the woman, seemingly ignoring her nervous twitches.
“Ah, yes, indeed you can. I am Professor Xavier from Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. I am here to enquire about young Mr. Cain Withers; you did receive my letter did you not?”
The professor raised an eyebrow ever so slightly as the woman flinched at his question; she opened her mouth a few times before she managed to whisper.
“I.. No, you must have gotten the address wrong. I’m sorry, please leave.”
She moved to close the door when Scotts arm shot forward with almost unnatural speed and caught the door. Ororo could somewhat understand what the woman was seemingly going through and immediately smiled and tried to calm her.
“Don’t worry; we’re not here to harm you. Just let us come in and we’ll speak to Cain, ok? We will leave as soon as we’ve told him about the school, and you won’t ever have to see us again if you and your son don’t want to.”
Reluctantly, the woman nodded and stepped back from the doorframe, she motioned for them to come inside and all the X-Men complied quickly.
The first thing Scott noticed about the house was its colorless state; everything seemed to be grey, black or white. While the house had a somewhat cozy feeling to it, it felt distant and foreign, as if the feeling of home didn’t exactly belong here. The woman, who was obviously Mrs. Withers, led them into a nice sized living room where she pointed at a sofa and motioned for the guests to sit down.
“I-I’ll just go get Cain.”
She said uncertainly. She eyed the three X-men again before the side of her lip twitched and she left the room to find her son. As her footsteps became distant Scott and Ororo let out a frustrated and tired sigh respectively, the professor send them an amused look.
“Tired already I see? You seemed to be in high spirits when we left this morning.”
He said with a smile in his eyes. Scott leaned forwards in the couch and shrugged slightly
“I just wish that we would be welcomed with a smile or a friendly gesture for once. I can understand why the parents are nervous and confused when their child is shown to be a mutant, but it’s beyond me why they sneer at us when we try to help them.”
Scott made to continue but Ororo spoke before he had the chance.
“So, do we know anything about the boy, Professor?”
Xavier nodded,
“Yes, Cain Withers is a 1st year High School student. His overall average is above most of his peers. Cain seems to be average at most Science-related subjects, while his grades in subjects like history, psychology and most languages are near perfect. He-…”
“Hello.”
Scott and Ororo jumped at the sound of the new voice and turned to see a teenage boy standing in an adjacent doorway. The boy was wearing a baggy, white tee shirt with an orange splash-print that read ‘Taiho’, his dark jeans were torn slightly and a pair of jet-black headphones hung around his neck. The boy had plain features and his face seemed to be set in a permanent bored expression. His eyes were a dull mixture of green and grey and his whole face seemed to scream disinterest. Overall, the boy looked like someone who didn’t laugh much, someone who could send a clear message with a raised eyebrow or a simple look.
“Ah, you must be Cain Withers. I am Professor Charles Xavier; it’s nice to meet you, Cain.”
The boy, no identified as Cain, nodded once before he slumped into a chair beside Scott.
“So, I presume you are the so-called ‘teachers’ from the mutant school?”
he said mockingly. Scott thought he heard a vague whimper and a couple of retreating footsteps at Cain’s comment, but shrugged it off as nothing.
“Indeed, Mr. Withers, we are. I have already presented myself, but these two are my fellow teachers on the institute, Scott Summers and Ororo Munroe,”
Charles motioned towards his two former students respectively as he presented them.
“I’m sure you’ll get to know each other very well if you choose to accept a place on my school.”
Cain winced at the title.
“Please, call me Cain, Mr. Withers was my father.”
Scott raised an eyebrow and was about to ask ‘was?’, but a look from his former teacher stopped him in his tracks. Cain, obvious to their silent conversation, continued to speak.
“But anyway, when do we leave?”
“Leave? I had the impression that you wished to ponder your choice further.”
Cain shook his head softly.
“There’s nothing left for me here, professor. Dad’s gone, the ****er. Mom’s dying and ignoring me, and this town means nothing to me. I just want to get out of here. Please?”
He replied in a mixture between a sad and tired tone. The Professors brows furrowed
“I am sorry to hear that, Cain, I really am.”
Cain almost scoffed but he managed to stop himself. The man was just trying to help, of that Cain was sure, but his pity wasn’t needed. His institution on the other hand, was.
“I’ve already packed my bags and left a note telling my mother where I’m going. I just want to get out of here.”
Cain sent the Professor the closest thing he had to a begging glance.
“I don’t mean to sound like a kid, professor, but I feel like I’m suffocating in this house.”
Ororo Munroe was curious. Just a few minutes ago the three X-men had left the Withers residence, now with a young man accompanying them. There had been no heartbreaking farewells when they left the house, no crying and no smiling, there had been a single nod towards the kitchen where Mrs. Withers presumably was and a look that asked the three X-men to just go with it. Ororo was initially against letting the boy leave without saying goodbye to his mother, but Cain seemed to know what he was doing, and not even once did Mrs. Withers come out from the kitchen. Nothing seemed to have changed with the boys’ departure, nobody seemed to care and it was breaking her heart.
Ororo sat down beside the boy in the SUV, there was no music or useless chattering, just an awkward silence that begged to be broken. Out of the corner of her eye Ororo saw Cain put his black headphones on as he fumbled with a black IPod. Soon, the faint sound of a piano could be heard in the car, only audible because of the uncomfortable silence.
“Do you mind if we listen in?”
She heard Scott ask and at Cain’s confused expression he repeated the question a bit louder. Cain’s eyes widened in surprise and he quickly unhooked the IPod from the headphones. With a small embarrassed smile the boy handed the IPod to Scott, who connected it to the cars stereo.
“I… I don’t know if you like this type of music.”
Cain muttered and Ororo smiled.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a kid your age listening to that kind of music. Do you play?”
“Yeah,”
Cain nodded,
“I’ve had lessons since I was six.”
Ororo smiled softly at the boy. The soft tunes of a piano quickly filled the car before silence could, and Ororo found herself becoming lost in the music. The piece was beautiful; it told stories of sadness and loss, but also of passion and love. Ororo wasn’t the only one becoming lost in the music; Cain’s eyes had become distant, even from her angle she could see that he was deep in thought.
“Do you want to see my power?”
His voice interrupted her observance and she had to ask him to repeat the question.
“Do you want to see my power? I can imagine that most of your students want to show other mutants their powers for one reason or another and I’d like to see what the three of you can do, too.”
To Ororo’s surprise, Scott chuckled.
“I don’t think you’d want Storm and I to show off our powers here, they aren’t exactly designed to be used indoor. I’m sure she would like to tell you her power herself, but I can shoot laser out of my eyes, I can’t really control it so I have to wear glasses.”
Cain seemed surprised with the answer and shot a questioning glance at Scott’s back. Ororo raised an eyebrow at him and decided to enlighten him.
“I’m Storm by the way; most of the people at the School have some kind of nickname that describes their powers.”
“No, no, that’s not it; I’m just surprised that Mr. Summers can’t control his power.”
Cain mumbled loud enough for Storm to hear it. She shot the boy a calculating look and decided that a little lecture was in order.
“Most mutants can control their power up to some extent, but some abilities simply can’t be controlled, it’s not something that we have any control over, sadly.”
Cain seemed to contemplate her answer for a while and she used the temporary silence to continue her explanation.
“Your ability matures along with your body, so most young mutants don’t have much control over their power. But like I said, some abilities simply can’t be completely controlled. That’s why some mutants are labeled as dangerous; because they’re unable to control their own powers.”
Unnoticed by her, the Professor had gradually begun to smile as she went into ‘teacher’ mode without even noticing it. Cain’s facial expression had gone from contemplating to frowning as Ororo’s explanation grew more detailed, she continued to explain the process of mutants maturing and their powers ‘evolving’ during their lifetime. Busy as she was with her lecture, she was caught completely off-guard when Cain suddenly interrupted her.
“What is the average level of control?”
Short and precise as his question was, it still interrupted Storm’s rant and she frowned at the rude interruption.
“Maybe you could show us your level of control Mr. Withers and we’ll assess where you stand.”
The professor, who had remained silent and observing during Cain and Storm’s conversation, offered. Cain nodded quickly and began to explain.
“My power is complete control of my body, I seem to be able to control all the cells in my body and dictate their behavior individually. I can’t turn into liquid or anything like that, but stuff like healing, growing new limbs, manipulating my skeleton and stuff like that, that’s what I do.”
Ororo’s eyes grew wide over the course of the explanation, had it been bone manipulation or healing it would’ve been a simple and straightforward power like most of the students on the School. But absolute control? The idea was incredible and scary at the same time. A strong power like that needed a strong wielder to keep it under control; she could only hope that Cain could learn to control it.
“I can’t just grow an organ out of nowhere; the energy has to come from somewhere. I haven’t figured out what my energy is yet, or where it comes from, but if I try to grow something or make something out of nothing, I can feel myself becoming tired. The good thing is that I can absorb most organic material and convert it into energy in my body somehow, so if I just absorb the things I created after using them, I’m back to normal. It’s actually pretty awesome.”
Cain excitedly told them, his face had gone from impassive to almost childish in a matter of seconds as he talked about his gift. Ororo chuckled at his excitement; it was nice to see someone experimenting with their powers instead of making do with what they began with.
“I haven’t discovered the limit to my power yet, I’ve done all sorts of experiments! You should have seen the-…”
Suddenly, Cain’s mouth clapped shut and his eyes gleamed with an emotion Storm couldn’t quite identify. A brief silence settled in the car and Cain squirmed uncomfortable.
“I’m sorry, I’m just a bit excited, that’s all. Maybe I should just show you instead of rambling.”
Cain made to move his arm but suddenly turned towards the professor, seemingly awaiting confirmation. At the Professors smile and nod, he held his arm up and a look of concentration overtook his face. For a second it seemed like nothing would happen, not a single sound was heard in the car except for Cain’s controlled breathing. Ororo was about to ask Cain if something had gone wrong, when a disgusting crack was heard.
Without warning, bones began to grow out of Cain’s arm and started to intervene with each other as a shape began to take form. Ororo squinted to make out the details of the figure, but it quickly became clearer and more detailed when more bones joined the creation. The result was amazing.
Cain had created a woman entirely out of bones, her marble-white bone skin seemed glow and her shape and curves were scarily realistic. Her body seemed to be made out of a single bone, not even detail looked out of place, but the most impressive thing was her hair. The figurines hair was also made out of bone, but it seemed to be made of so many microscopic pieces that it retained the properties of normal hair and as Cain breathed down on her, it swayed beautifully. The bone-woman was created in standing position with her arms held in front of her and her head tilted slightly sideways, her face showed anticipation, curiosity and friendliness.
Ororo stared at the creation in amazement; the sheer difficulty of making such a thing with one’s own bones was overwhelming. She had met sculptors who would kill to be able to make such a figurine in stone or clay, to make it out of bone was just about impossible. She was just about to voice her praise when the woman started to, in lack of better words; melt. The woman’s face distorted into a grimace and her arms went limp as she fell down onto her knees, in the end, the figurine fell on all fours and her hair hung in front of her face, hiding most of it from view, but Ororo could still make out the pleading look in her face as she fully sunk back into Cain’s arm.
“Eva is my creation, she was my first experiment and she has only improved over time. She’s perfect.”
Cain’s voice was low and loaded with emotion, he stared at his arm with longing in his eyes, but as soon as he noticed Ororo staring at him, his eyes went stony.
“She’s something I made up, nothing more, nothing less.”
Ororo’s head was in turmoil, the way Cain had looked at the figurine had been puzzling. No, puzzling wasn’t the right word, it had been unnerving. Not knowing quite what to say to the boy, Ororo decided to stay silent, and apparently, so did the rest of the car’s occupants. The rest of the trip towards the airport was spend in complete silence, the only sound coming from the car and the piano on Cain’s IPod.
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Thanks for reading, feedback is appreciated! ^_^
-Zero
