The Wolverine & The Black Cat

11 // Either Kill or Be Killed

C H A P T E R   11 :   E I T H E R   K I L L   O R   B E   K I L L E D

"All her life she has seen
All the meanest side of me
They took away the prophet's dream
For a profit on the street

Now she's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow

All his life he's been told
He'll be nothing when he's old
All the kicks and all the blows
He won't ever let it show

'Cause he's stronger than you know
A heart of steel starts to grow"

"Today we are going to talk about the differences between mutants and non-mutants." Storm announced, causing a restless buzz in the students. She was replacing the Genetics & Mutations teacher and everyone was more interested in the class now that she was here. Storm just had a natural majesty to her, an imposing presence no one could be indifferent to, a force of nature people recognized whether or not she decided to shake the world.

"Why study non-mutants?" A student asked, full of bitterness. "It's not like they care about us."

"Careful with generalizations." Storm said. "I know many of you have experienced the bad side of non-mutants, but they don't all see us or behave towards us the same way. And it's not because someone doesn't respect or listen to us that we ought to do the same to them. If we want to know ourselves, we need to know who's different, we need to have a basis of comparison. Therefore, the reason for this class, but I won't tolerate any supremacist behavior. I expect you to be better than those who have done you wrong. I'm not giving you this lesson for you to intensify what divides us, but for you to guess what unites us."

"What's the point? Some of them don't even consider us humans." Another kid declared.

"And since when do we let ourselves be defined by other people's words and thoughts? What matters is who we think we are. No one can take away from us the power to define ourselves."

I smiled and looked around. Most people were mesmerized by Storm's strength, palpable in her speech. I could see she was a mentor to many, an idol even. I wondered what was like to be such a good example and not even have to try.

"So, I'll start with a basic question. What is a mutant?"

A boy in the front of the class grinned.

"A person destined to success."

"Or doomed to incomprehension." Said a guy in the back of the room. I looked over my shoulder and my eyes' met Lewis Thompson's dark ones. Yup, he was in my class. And I had only noticed him after seeing him in detention. Some people only became present to us after something made us change our view of them.

"Guys, this is serious." Storm said, her eyes flickering to me. I felt a weight in my chest, a feeling I usually had when my sixth sense was trying to warn me of something. "Care to try again?"

A girl lifted her hand so fast Hermione Granger would be proud.

"A person with the X-Gene, professor. To be a mutant a person must have a mutation in their DNA caused by the presence of this extra gene. Non-mutants don't have it."

"And so one small thing breaks us totally apart." Another skeptical student added. "How can something so small become so big?"

"It doesn't have to separate us." Storm said firmly. She truly believed in what she said, and her faith was admirable. "The X-Men are working towards a world where differences will no longer be barriers. Where mutants and non-mutants will be treated equally and with the same respect."