Thunderbird || X-Men

Chapter 1 ~ Visitors

1962

The road in front of me stretched so far I couldn't see the end. All I knew was that I didn't have a destination. I was going to keep driving until I was as far as I could be away from my family. What happened was something I could never explain. Even if I tried no one would believe me. Everything happened so fast. I had always known who I was until that moment. Since then, uncertainty lingered in my subconscious and it scared me. I'm scared of what I am and what I could do.

The September sun was already coming back up. I had been driving all night with all of my belongings stuffed aimlessly in my car. I needed a place to stay for the time being, a place I could be alone and undisturbed. Even a motel was a bad idea. What if something happened? What if I hurt someone? What if I kill someone? These thoughts clouded my judgment. I knew I was over thinking. And with my car almost out of gas a motel sounded like my only option.

After I pulled into the motel and parked my car, my legs felt like water. I knew I had been awake for too long. I slumped inside and collapsed onto the bed without taking any of my stuff from the car. I kept replaying the scene in my head. My mother yelling at me and me yelling back at her. And then it happened. I could see the look on her face was nothing but terrified. She didn't kick me out once she found out. In fact, she was accepting of it, and she told me she would be able to cope with it. I left on my own. Not out of anger but out of fear. I'm a danger to anyone around me and I don't want my family getting hurt again because of me.

~

A loud knocking on the door awoke me. When I heard it again, I was instantly afraid. I had no clue who it was and if I could lash out at them once I opened the door. They didn't knock again and I was relieved.

"You don't need to be afraid, Kayla. We just want to speak with you." A voice said, making me jump. I looked around spastically. The voice was not coming from the door. It sounded like it was from all around me as if it were in my head. Then it happened again.

"Please answer the door." I stood up quickly, eyeing the door. Finally, I was brave enough to answer it.

"Hello?" I said quietly, peeking out of the crack of the door. Two young men, who appeared to be turning to leave, were there. One was taller, with short brown hair, icy greenish blue eyes, and angled features. The other, shorter than his colleague, had softer features and darker hair.

"Hello, darling." He spoke with a slight British accent. "May we come in for a moment?"

Without really thinking or saying anything, I let them in. They didn't take a seat at the small table surrounded by stools until after I did.

"My name is Charles Xavier, and this is my friend Erik Lehnsherr." The shorter one, Charles, told me while also motioning to his colleague.

"Nice to meet you..." I mumbled hesitantly. I hoped they couldn't tell how nervous I was. I had no clue who these men were or what they wanted. Maybe they know who I am already, and want to take me away and do horrible experiments on me.

Charles and Erik gazed around the room at the lights. They had been flickering.

"There's no need to be nervous, dear, we're not here to hurt you.." Charles tried to calm me. I hadn't even noticed what was happening.

"I know that..." I lied. "Why would I be worried about that?"

"We know what you are, Kayla." Erik finally spoke.

"Well this has been great guys..." I stood from my seat at the table and made my way towards the door somewhat calmly. The lights in the room were flickering faster now. I made sure to keep my eyes on these two as I reached for the doorknob.

"Erik-"

Just as I opened the door, it was violently slammed shut and locked from the outside. I knew that I was trapped now with these strange men, and I felt my hands start to tremble.

"Listen dear..." I heard Charles's voice say, but inside my own head like before. I saw that he had two fingers to his temple, and his mouth was not moving.

"We are here to help you. I think you'll find that we are more similar than you thought. Now please come back to the table." He explained in my head.

I didn't know what to make of the situation, so I brought my trembling self back to the table and into my seat.

"So... you're not here to take me away..?"

"Far from it, my dear."

"Then... what do you want?" I muttered, the lights starting to flicker less and less.

"Erik and I are putting together a team of mutants, people just like us." Charles said, intertwining his fingers.

"You'll be safe there." Erik added. "I promise, no one is going to experiment on you."

"But what if I hurt someone? What if-"

"We're going to teach you to control your powers." Charles continued. "Right now they can seem dangerous and unruly, but that's only because you don't know how you use them."

"And you know how to do that?"

"Yes. I can help you hone your abilities just as I learned to hone my own." Charles and Erik stood from the table and walked to the door.

"We're not forcing you to do anything you don't want to Kayla." Erik told me. The two of them turned to leave.

"Wait!" I called. They both turned back to me.

This was the time. It was a yes or a no. Two people just like me with gifts any human would beg to possess, standing in my motel room waiting for my answer. Waiting for my answer to joining a team full of people, mutants, with powers who all probably thought they were the only one. So what would I say? What should I say?

"I want to come with you!"