We Are The X-Men

Mutant Crush

WARNING: Trauma and self-loathing, description of a panic attack, kidnapping, predatory behavior, claustrophobia, unintentional self-harm, intrusive thoughts and flashbacks of abuse. Yeah, this one gets a bit heavy.

---

A/N: This is a Reader-Insert fanfic, so I'll be using a few abbreviations. Here's a key:

Y/N = Your Name

Other Notes: Reader is she/her and I pretty much write out Kurt's accent, replacing w's with v's and th's with z's. If it turns out it's too hard for people to read that way, I'll change it.

Enjoy! :)

---

The air is full of dust, a massive engine roaring as the monster truck powers over mounds of dirt. Even as the stadium of people hoots and hollers, the motor cuts through the noise with a deep rumble. Everybody goes nuts as the truck flattens a row of cars under its huge wheels.

Everybody except Raven Darkholme, of course. She sits cross-legged, brushing a piece of popcorn off the bench beside her with a frown of distaste. She hasn't come all the way down to Texas for some raucous show for country hicks. As the announcer begins to hype up the next act, she takes out her binoculars and leans forward.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, the main attraction of the evening. Let's give it up for the world's strongest teenager: Fred "The Blob" Dukes!"

Another round of cheers and shouts begin as the young boy takes to the center of the arena. He makes a show of it, entering with a bulky cape covering his whole body and casting it off when he faces the crowd. As it turns out, the cape isn't that bulky at all, the boy is. He looks to be almost as round as he is tall, and he stands at nearly 6 feet. The colorful spandex outfit he wears makes it clear there are no tricks or padding. This kid is enormous.

But Raven doesn't care how big this kid is. It's what he can do that interests her. She settles into her seat as the real show begins.

"The Blob" stands between two monster trucks, both facing opposite directions away from him. Each truck has a thick chain attached to the rear, about ten feet in length. The crowd watches in anticipation as the boy lifts the ends of both chains, wrapping them around his arms in a tight grip. The drivers in both trucks rev their engines, and through her binoculars Raven can see a cocky grin form on his face.

The monster trucks take off at full speed but are immediately stopped by the unwavering teenager holding the taut chains. The crowd gasps as the trucks go up on their hind wheels, continuing to pull against the restraints. The Blob chuckles, barely working up a sweat. After a few more seconds to build suspense, he yanks the chains towards him, pulling both trucks in. At the last second, he jumps up, allowing the rear bumpers of the trucks to crash into each other before he lands on them. The force of his weight causes the back wheels to burst and deflate as he balances there, crossing his arms victoriously. 

The man conquers the machine.

As the crowd gets to their feet in amazed applause and cheers, Raven remains seated and cracks a smile. Her intel had been correct, it seems. But just as she is about to stow away the binoculars, she catches the flash of surprise on the Blob's face as he leans over for a bow and loses balance. After a second of flailing his arms to catch himself, the boy falls forward into the dirt. The cheering stops, and is soon replaced by jeers and laughter. Raven's smile grows wider as she watches the teen's expression harden, anger blazing in his eyes as he gets up and stalks out of the arena.

Anger is something she can work with.

As she gets ready to leave, she looks across the stadium through her binoculars one last time to check on the other attendees. Wherever a new mutant appears, Charles' team is never far behind. She'd noticed them hours ago, and no doubt the feral one would have smelled her if the entire arena didn't stink of beer and tobacco. Logan looks right at home with the rough-and-tumble folk, but the fiery redhead was easy to spot.