❝ even if my heart is on fire, you don't know how cold i've become ❞
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THE BAR WAS DIM as Radley wiped down the counters. She had gotten stuck with the closing shift tonight, and of course her coworker gave some excuse that he had to leave early, leaving her to do everything.
It's not like she had anywhere else to be, or to go too. She had been crashing on a friends couch for the past few days, and she could tell she had over stayed her welcome.
She paused wiping the counter down for a moment, wincing slightly as she flexed her hands. They ached and burned, which was her own fault. She shouldn't have put it off for so long.
The sound of the bell chiming as the door open caught Radley's attention. She furrowed her brows; she could've sworn she had already locked the door.
She immediately reached for the gun that was hidden under the counter. With the area she worked in, you never knew when you might need it.
"We're closed." She called out, her could feel her hands starting to get warm as her body tensed up.
"You won't need that." A voice responded. "We're not here to hurt you."
Unfortunately for whoever he was, Radley's fight or flight response always leaned towards fight. But she paused for a moment, how had he known about the gun?
The shadow of two figures stepping into the light made Radley's fists curl into a ball, slowly beginning to illuminate the area around her.
She stepped out from behind the counter cautiously, eyeing the men up and down. "What do you want?"
"My name is Charles Xavier," he introduced, taking a few steps forward, slowly. "And this is Erik Lensherr. Radley—"
The sound of her name made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Charles's eyes widened, quickly realizing his mistake. "No, we aren't—"
She didn't give him a chance to explain herself before her hand shot out, jabbing him in the throat.
He immediately coughed out, hands cupping his throat in pain. Radley elbowed the other man in the nose as he reached out to grab her.
He groaned in pain, clutching his face as blood ran out of his nose. Radley took off through the room, running straight for the door.
But then a voice rang out in her head, causing her to stop in place. "We are not cops, Radley."
She turned around, slowly, taking deep breaths as she eyed him curiously. "You're... You're like me?"
She didn't get a response right away, but the man beside him who was clutching his bleeding nose, outstretched one arm, making her jolt forward.
She looked down, seeing the rosary beads that were hung around her neck floating in the air, the cross outstretched as it dragged her back towards the two men.
"Is it that obvious?" He sneered.
She glared at him, quickly pushing the beads back so they were hidden under her shirt. "Forgive me for not exactly being trusting. Now what do you want?"
"As I was saying before, my name is Charles Xavier, and this is Erik Lensherr, and yes, we are like you." He, Charles, began. "We're putting together a team, of sorts, and we would like for you to be apart of it."
Radley let out a laugh, although it was void of any humor, and crossed her arms. "Why would you want me?"
"Your mutation is different. I think you have the potential to be much more, given the right training, and we need your help."
She looked him up and down. Her... abilities, were anything but helpful. "Do you even know what I can do?"
Charles cleared his throat. "We know that it has something to do with fire?"
Her eyes narrowed. "You want me to be on a team of freaks and you don't even know what I can do?"
"We were hoping you could show us."
Erik joined in. "You've seen what we can do, now it's your turn."
Radley sighed, dropping her arms. "It's not safe; I can't control it. So if you get hurt, it's not my fault."
"You won't hurt us, Radley." Charles assured her.
She contemplated for a moment. "Fine. But we have to go outside, there's too much alcohol in here, I'll set the building on fire."
Not that it would be her first time.
The men nodded, following her out of the building and into the dark alleyway. Charles observed the area, making sure no one was around to see.
Radley let out a huff of breath, closing her eyes to try and focus. You can do this. She focused on letting the fire seep out from beneath her skin. It had been so long since she used them, it felt good to let it out.
She let the fire consume her, feeling her hands and head warm, like she had just put them into a vat of boiling wax.
Charles raised his eyebrows upon seeing her eyes, they were completely whited out, no sign of the green color that was previously there.
Radley had only managed to light her head and her hands on fire, which surprised him seeing as he expected for her whole body to go up in flames. She would get there eventually.
The blonde held the flames for as long as she could before they died out. She inhaled deeply, the ache in her hands had vanished, much to her relief.
"That was impressive." Erik drawled. She shot him a glare before turning back to Charles.
"I can't hold it for very long," she explained. "And it only really works when I'm angry. Sill want me on your team?"
Charles beamed, giving her a nod. "Absolutely. You are quite incredible, Miss Graves."
Radley scoffed. "I don't know about all that. I'm more of a hazard, if anything."
