Utopia: An X-Men Story

Chapter 6

Alex met me outside a sloped mansion in the upper East Side of the city. Lights flickered below and ran along winding roads in the darkness. I could see the edge of the nation where the floating plate met the ocean and the moonlight danced in the water as it lapped up the shore and pooled up in small puddles.

"It's about time you got here!" Alex smiled and ran down the glass steps. "We were getting worried that you wouldn't show."

"And miss crashing a party? I don't think so." We bumped fists and laughed. "I don't think we've been to this house before."

"Nope! Jennifer got in good with the Kinney boy and talked him into having a party."

"That makes a lot of sense." As Alex and I walked up the steps, I could feel the rhythm of the music in the air as it shook the ground. People stood against the walls talking, laughing, and dancing. They glares at us as we passed and snickered.

I watched a girl lean into her friend as she whispered, "Damn. Who invented them?"

Disgust filled her voice and her friend left. I clenched my fist, digging my claws into my palm. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but I had a feeling it would be soon.

"Everyone's over here." Alex grabbed my arm and dragged me to a corner. Bastian was leaning against the wall next to Nathaniel, a drink in his hand.

"Regardez qui a décidé de se présenter. Miaou Miaou, petit chat." He raised his cup to his lips. I rolled my eyes and smacked the bottom of it; the contents splashed all over him and he dropped the cup. "Que se passe-t-il!? Kyrany! What was that for!?"

Nathaniel burst out laughing and I smiled. "Again, not a cat."

"She does have a point, brother. No matter how many times you call her that, she's not going to accept it." Nathaniel raised his hand and we high fived each other. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, although I'm starting to wish I hadn't come. The music is great but all the people are crap."

They all nodded and spoke in agreement.

"You are not wrong, cher." Bastian started to wipe his shirt off. "But the food is good and you can't deny that fact."

"Alright fine. I'll give it that. Hey, where's your sister? I haven't seen her yet."

"She decided to stay home at the last minute. Said she had a project she forgot to do."

Alex rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "That's totally a cover up for her real reason."

Bastian pursed his lips and took a deep breath. "Kinney."

"Her ex? That Kinney? Alex, why didn't you tell me that abusive crapper was going to be here!?" My heart began to race and my fingers twitched.

She shrugged. "I wanted to see what happened when you found out. You and I both know that Kedrew deserves whatever punishment you determine fits."

Anger swelled up in my chest. Kedrew was feral, like me, but of a different breed. He came from a lineage of successful X-Men, however he, despite his animalistic prowess and family fortune, was a failure, unable to pass the basic elementary courses and found it comfortable to study business at a moderate collegiate academy. He wasn't bad looking in the slightest, but he also wasn't very bright.

Abrielle had fallen head over heels for him a few years back and he played her like a fiddle and treated her like a pawn shop prize, great at first and then abandoned in some corner. He used her and abused her and threw her away. By the time she told us, it was already to late. He had taken her pretty little name and drug it through the abyss. I needed to make him pay. She was never really the same after that.