X-men: Bast Ch.1

“If you give the boy any aid, any aid at all, you’re job here is done,” Principal Daniels warned.

“Go to hell,” Kia returned pleasantly and without hesitation. She opened the door and glanced back at the trio standing at the door. All three of them stared at her as if she were some demon spawned right in their midst.

Kia slipped back into the classroom, slamming the door behind her and bolting it shut. “Fucking humans,” she muttered.

Robby sat on her desk, staring at her. One of his eyes shone with a mixture of fear and apprehension. The other was swollen shut and covered in an angry purple bruise. He had moppy brown hair and the thin, gangly look of a teen in the middle of a growth spurt. He was about fourteen. He cradled his bruised and tender left arm to his body and looked like he was trying to make himself as small and unnoticeable as possible.

“What’s going on?” he asked.

“We need to leave, Robby,” Kia answered. “I’ve been fired. And I’ll probably be fired all over again once they find out you weren’t the one who beat up your classmates.”

“What’s going to happen to me?” The teen asked in a cracking voice. He wiped the back of his hand along his nose and the dried blood cracked and flaked off.

Kia sat on the desk beside him and glanced at his face, wincing slightly at the swelling. “I’ll take you to my place. We need to get you out of here.”

“What…what about my parents?” he asked softly.

Kia took a long time answering. “They’ve…disowned you, Robby. I’m sorry.”

Robby stated at the floor. After awhile he shrugged. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. They told me they would if I was a Mutie.”

“You’re not a ‘Mutie‘, Robby. You’re a Mutant,” Kia corrected gently. “So. They knew?”

“They suspected, I guess,” Robby replied. “I tried to hide it. I didn’t want to be a Mutant.”

“I know,” Kia said softly. She squeezed the teens hand and grabbed her things up. “Come on. I don’t know what we’re going to do, but I won’t let you just live on the street. You can stay at my place until we figure something out.”

“You’d take me in?” Robby asked hesitantly. “Even though I’m a Muti…a Mutant?”

“Being a Mutant doesn’t make you any less of a person, Robby. It’s not something to be ashamed of, and it’s not a bad thing. It just means you’re different.”

“Different,” Robby said bitterly as they stepped out of the classroom. The halls were mercifully empty now. Kia wagered silently that her now ex-coworkers were making some calls at just that moment that would prove detrimental to Robby’s health. “Different like a freak, you mean,” Robby sulked.

“Different like anyone is different, Robby,” Kia replied as she led them out to her car. “Being a Mutant is the same as being black or white, or being a guy or a girl. It doesn’t matter any more or any less.”

Kia lived quite a distance from the school, out in the countryside. She valued her privacy and was willing to make an extra-long drive to keep it. Besides, the drive was worth it for the money the prestigious school was paying her. It was a good thing the job paid so very well, too; she wouldn’t have worked with such narrow-minded people if it hadn’t. Being a Christian was one thing, and Kia still considered herself to be one. But being ignorant was another, and Kia had hardly been able to stand the sheer volume of ignorant people in that rich little religious academy. She didn’t regret being fired in the least.

Kia’s home was small and modest. She lived alone and didn’t have many personal effects; a bed, a couch, a kitchen, a table, a TV, a laptop, and a wide assortment of books. Her table was scattered with various papers and forms from her classes at the school. A few meager personal effects dotted her walls and table-top spaces, and she had a small file cabinet in the corner with her personal papers and information, including her diplomas.

She helped Robby to lie down on the couch and gave him some ice for his eye before helped him situate his arm and put it in a small sling.

The teen let out a long sigh. “My life is ruined.”

“Nonsense,” Kia returned. “But first, tell me, how did those stupid guys know you’re a mutant?”

Robby’s face turned a deep shade of red and he looked at the floor. “I don’t wanna say.”

“Come on,” Kia told him. “It’s okay. You’re not going to scare me.”

“I, uh…I have…scales. They saw when I was changing in the locker room earlier today. I thought I was alone.”

He looked up at her, a haunted look in his one good eye. He had the look of a boy whose world was closing in on him. “It’s getting worse! It’s…it’s spreading! And I…I tried to peel…to scrape them off, but it h-hurts so bad a-and they just come b-back!”

The boy was sobbing softly now. Kia sat beside him and put an arm around him, trying to comfort him in what little way she could. He cried softly, his frustration and fear and uncertainty flowing out of him in one massive burst.

“I don’t wanna be a lizard,” he muttered as he sat up and angrily brushed his tears aside.

“You need to stop messing with the scales, Robby,” Kia softly advised. “Let them grow and do what they have to. It’s a natural thing, for you, even if you don’t think so. You’re just hurting yourself.”

“But what if I really do turn into a lizard?” Robby asked.

Kia paused. She looked around slowly, her eyes not seeming to focus on anything.

“Stay here,” she said softly.

“What’s going on?” Robby asked. He drew himself into a ball on the couch, looking at her with fresh fear in his eyes.

“Someone’s come. I’m not sure why anyone would be here. You stay here, Robby, and stay quiet.”

“Ms. Jaeger?” Robby whispered.

She gave him a soft smile and ruffled his hair. “I’ll protect you.”

Kia stretched her senses and followed the feel of the visitors. They were going to the back door. She walked to a window at the back door and cautiously peeked out the blinds. She glimpsed two people approaching, a small white man and a young black woman. The man was in a wheelchair and the woman was pushing him along. As they drew closer, Kia could make out more details about them.

The man was wearing a neat suit, appearing very businesslike and professional. He was clean and had an air of authority and confidence about him. A slight but warm smile was upon his face. His hands were folded in his lap and his eyes glanced left and right every few moments, as if taking everything in. His head was bald and his face smooth and clean shaved. His features were well defined and had a slightly downward angle. His brow and jaw were sharp with thin, tilted brows that should have made his face appear severe and hawkish, but somehow did not.

The woman was tall, a few inches taller than Kia even. She had deep black skin that appeared smooth and soft. Her hair was stark white, but one glance at the woman made it was obvious the white was not from age. It hung lustrous and full bodied, falling in a pale mass down to the woman’s gently flaring hips. Her face was beautiful, breathtakingly so, and her eyes were a surprisingly clear and pale blue. She was long of limb and slender, though her figure curved generously at the bust and hip.

Kia swept her ‘sixth sense’ across them, focusing upon them and taking in the feel of them, searching their hearts and emotions to ascertain what kind of business brought the pair here. She sensed no negativity, no violence or anger in them, nor any deceptive feelings. They were a bit anxious, worried, even, but there was no fear in their hearts.

The woman knocked on the back door. Kia hesitated, then opened it halfway. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon,” the man in the wheelchair greeted, smiling softly. His smile was disarming, even to her. “Sorry we didn’t come to the front door, but as you can see I have some issues with steps.”

“Uh, no problem,” Kia nodded. “Can…I help you?”

“My name is Charles Xavier, and this is my friend and associate, Ororo Monroe.”

After several long moments of silence, Kia finally said, “Kia. Jaeger.”

“Hello, Ms. Jaeger. May we come in?”

“Why?” Kia asked, not bothering to keep the suspicion from her voice.

“We know this seems very strange,” the woman, Ororo, spoke. Her voice was thick and rich, full of both strength and serenity. “We do not mean to disturb or frighten you, but we know that you have a young man in your house. A young Mutant.”

Kia tensed visably.

“We mean him no harm” Xavier said quickly. “We are concerned for him. We…heard…about what happened to him at school today. We are worried that something worse may happen if he is not properly protected.”

“Properly protected?” Kia echoed.

“Please, allow us to speak with him,” Ororo asked gently. “We wish him no harm. It is good of you to take him in. Not many would. But he may need more help than you can provide.”

Kia remained silent for a moment, stretching her senses across the pair. Then she nodded and opened the door fully. “Okay. He’s not feeling well. You know about what happened at school.”

Robby panicked at the sight of the strange pair. Kia grabbed his hand and nodded. “It’s okay, they’re Mutants too.”

Charles gave Kia a sideways glance.

“You knew?” Ororo asked. “How?”

“Later,” Kia replied. “What do you need with Robby, first?”

Charles faced Robby and smiled at him. He extended a hand toward the teen. “Nice to meet you, Robby. I am Charles Xavier.”

“What do you want with me?” Robby asked nervously. He didn’t take Charles’ hand.

“To the point,” Xavier smiled. “Very well. I know that you are a Mutant. I know what happened to you today. I also know you cannot go home now because your parents…your parents do not understand.”

“They kicked me out,” Robby said shakily. He looked ready to collapse in on himself.

“They are afraid, Robby,” Xavier said softly. “They are afraid because they do not understand. They do not understand what you are. And it’s not your fault.”

“How did you know I’m a Mutant? How did you know where to find me?” Robby asked.

Xavier smiled and glanced at Ororo.

“As Ms. Jaeger said, we too are Mutants,” she said smoothly.

“So? That doesn’t explain how you know I’m one. Do all Mutants know who Mutants are or something?”