X-Men: A New Hope

Chapter Eight

The Death Star, Alderaan System

Luke watched as Leia and Danielle started talking about something, both of them walking ahead of Han, Luke, and Chewbacca. Danielle had summoned more X-Men armor from the Falcon, and Leia was dressed now in what appeared to be a black knee-length armored dress with black leggings underneath and matching boots. The most unique part was the black cloak she wore over it. It was leather and it came down to the middle of Leia’s palms, the bottom reaching the top of her boots. It fit the princess perfectly.

Luke looked back and forth between Leia and Danielle, frowning. They looked a few years apart, and Luke guessed that Leia was his age, nineteen. He looked at Han. “How old is Danielle?” he asked curiously.

“Sixteen,” he replied. “She joined us when she was fourteen.”

“Why did she?”

Han sighed, scratching his head. “She was tortured about her mutations. The Imperials on the planet thought it was just more magic, and when she said it was in her DNA, they went crazy to try and get it out of her. When the blood transfers didn’t reveal her mutations, they did everything that they could to make her feel pain.” He shuddered. “Some of which scar her for life.”

Luke frowned, looking at Danielle. “It doesn’t look like that’s what happened.”

Han’s face darkened. “Trust me, a Danielle mad you could deal with. Storm in a rage is something you never want to deal with. Believe me, Luke, she’s a monster when she’s mad as hell.”

“I believe you,” Luke assured him. He remembered the Tusken Raiders, and the furious look on Danielle’s face that he could see even in her blank, pearly eyes at the time. “I believe you.”

 ***

Leia and Danielle rounded the corner of the hallway and ran right into a stormtrooper squadron. Their blasters came up, but so did Leia’s hand. She felt the Phoenix stir inside of her, unleashing her telekinetic abilities and crunched their blasters into bits of metal nothing. One of the stormtrooper commander’s grenades unhooked from his belt and exploded in midair, taking out three of the company.

Leia smirked, reveling in the Phoenix’s power before forcing her down. “How about that?” she  asked out loud.

The stormtroopers turned tail and took off running down the hallway they had just come from. "Get back to the ship!" Han barked to them all before taking off after them, Chewbacca at his heels.

"Hey, wait!" Luke shouted, about to go after them.

A pull on his suit stopped him. Danielle shook her head as he looked over at her. "There's no stopping Pyro," she told him, backing up. "You'll have to find your own way back."

"Our own way back?" Leia echoed. "You're not coming with us?"

Danielle shook her head. "No." She looked up, and there was a snapping noise. The metal covering for a vent overhead dropped down, and Danielle bent her knees and jumped. She did a backflip in midair, apparently using her magnetism abilities and sticking her feet onto the ceiling. She smiled down at Leia. "I've got my own way."

She disappeared inside the vent, most likely heading back towards the Falcon. Leia sighed. "I wish I had that ability."

"Not unless it somehow gets anyone killed," Luke replied, grabbing her arm. "Come on, let's go."

They took off down the rest of the hallway, and Leia wished desperately that this way led to the Falcon.

 ***