Regenerate | X-Men/Avengers - Pt. 1

Ch. 6

        I take a deep breath and press my claws into my skin. Ow. With a quiet hiss, I withdraw my hand. Within two seconds the five small punctures have healed. Looking in the bathroom mirror I am again surprised to see the absence of any blemish or mark. This plan may not work, but I'm already a fan.

         "Bwaha!" Matt flashes fanged teeth in my face before striding over to his seat laughing. He turns halfway and raises his eyebrows at blue-haired Lyndsay. "I'm a, sexy vampire."

        "Okay, Larson," Summers chuckles, "enough with the teeth."

        During the notes a quarter rolls under my desk. I bite my tongue and ignore it. An eraser head bounces across my notebook. I aim the sharp end of the pencil at Matthew and he turns back quickly with a smirk. Scott looks up and I bite the end of the pencil casually. When he's distracted I find the eraser head and throw it back pinging it off Matt's ear. He gives me a surprised smirk over his shoulder.

             Hoping to avoid him in the library, I take up reading in the garden. The sun is setting as I start heading back to the mansion, when a girl walks up from the field. "Hey, you wanna race?"

        I look behind me. There's no one else she could be talking to. "Where to?"

        "T'other end of the field and back." She points.

        I look around again. "Okay."

        She looks a little proud as she flips back her short hair. I set my book down on top of my sweater and follow her to the starting point.

        "On your mark, get set, go!"

        I cover ground quickly, throwing my legs out in front of me in wild strides. Halfway across the field the girl is at my elbow, only a few inches behind. Once I make it to the other side, I pivot and burst off again. I'm practically flying now as I glide into a runner's high. I've just hit that speed where it seems not even gravity can hold me down, when a dizzying whoosh of air causes me to lose a step. An unearthly blur speeds past me and skids to a grassy stop at the other end of the field. She turns, crosses her arms, and watches my progress with smug pity. I slow to a jog then walk the last few steps. A mutation that enhances speed. Cheap.

        "You quit?" she asks with derision.

        I study her face---flat blue eyes, beige freckles, sneer---and restrain myself. "I felt sorry for you."

        "Excuse me?" she asks, uncrossing her arms.

        "You clearly needed your ego flattered and racing a snail wasn't going to do it."

        Red-faced, she exclaims,"Freak, I was here first. Feel sorryfor yourself."

        Grabbing a fistful of my shirt, she hits me across the face, but I grab her by the wrist. Seething, she twists and jerks then bursts off running. Swept off my feet, I hit the ground hard, landing on my hand. As I sit up, I keep my senses busy making sure she isn't coming back. My hand bent backwards when I landed on it and, while it isn't broken, I grit my teeth from the pain of moving it.

        Bypassing Jean's office, I take the stairs two at a time until I'm safely in my bathroom with the door locked. I poke my hand. No pain. I poke it again. No pain. I wave my hand all over the place, check my knees for scrapes, and my face for scratches. Nothing. Everything's exactly the way it was. 

        Ace. The Professor's voice seems to echo about the room.

        "I know, I know, head to Scott's office."