Aurora

Part 1

Kurt sat on the rooftop of the Xavier Institute mansion. It was his favorite place to go after a mission, or when his thoughts ran so deep that he could barely breathe. The cool air brushed against his blue fur, helping him to clear his mind. Why didn't they like him? It seemed as though no one did, his demon-like appearance always scared them away; the fangs, yellow eyes, blue fur, the tail..

"Ach, mein gott, vhy did you create me zhis way?" The words floated away on the breeze, inaudible to anyone. It seemed insane that people always screamed when he'd just saved them, as if he was the true monster. If only they looked past his appearance to see his true colors.

He thought back to the day's mission as he lied back on the uneven tiles of the roof, it had been so simple compared to others; rescue some abandoned people trapped on the upper levels of a burning skyscraper. With Storm's flight, his teleportation, and the blackbird it should have been easy. But no, these people just happened to be non-mutants, and a few of them were anti-mutant activists. Kurt chuckled to himself at the irony of the situation, if the X-Men hadn't been there to save them, they'd have probably died. They'd hung onto their saviors for dear life when they had been in danger, yet as soon as their feet touched solid ground, they called for his and the X-Men's arrest. Unfortunately for them the blackbird was faster than a police car.

Kurt's thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Ororo (aka Storm) calling for him below. She knew where he'd be and he wasn't in the mood to chat right now..

*Bamf*

He materialized in a cloud of deep purple back in his room. A sigh escaped his lungs and he reached to pull off his shirt, catching a glimpse of himself in the mirror. Familiar golden eyes stared back at him and he looked away. It wasn't normal.

***

Aurora's head almost hit the desk as she jerked herself back into consciousness, the drone of her history teacher pulling her back to tedious reality. She was so tired lately and it was unlike her. Early nights hadn't seemed to help, nor had attempting to reduce her school workload. History was the only subject that she hadn't excelled in and it was getting frustrating. Her teacher wasn't helping either, most straight A students in the class were getting low grades.

The sharp ringing of the bell filled her with relief and she gathered her notebooks and satchel, making her way to the dining hall where her friends would be. Muffled whispers filled her ears as she walked by, pecking at her self confidence and making her feel slightly paranoid. Maybe she had something on her back or stuck to her hair? Perhaps she'd drooled all over her face while falling asleep in history class. She wiped her mouth with the edge of her sleeve and arrived at the table she and her friends usually hung out at during lunch, only to find them all staring at her too.

"Do I have something on my face?" Aurora's voice cracked slightly as the nerves built up in the pit of her stomach, causing an unwelcome lump to rise in her throat. The sound of someone's ear piercing scream broke her concern; however it seemed to build after another pointed and shouted "Mutant!" at her. What? She wasn't a mutant? Panic flooded her body as other students began to advance towards her, threatening to do unspeakable things to her. Time felt like it stopped. Her breath caught in her throat as red light danced in front of her eyes, it seemed to be coming from her, forming a shield in front of her; a barrier. The others stopped, cautious in case her power would harm them. Aurora grasped the opportunity and turned to run, only to be greeted by a solid punch to the face. They began to kick and beat her as she choked, unable to see straight. An intense pressure started to build inside of her head, spreading down to her body and through her limbs... and just before the light faded, an intense flash of white light filled her vision.

Awareness spilled into her mind and she saw a sight that she never wished to see. Her attackers, and innocents all unconscious, 'or dead' she internally commented. She had to get out. Before they might wake up. Aurora willed her sore limbs to move, and they reluctantly did. She dragged and limped out of the school, enduring the long trek home as her battered and bruised body carried her. A reflection in a car window allowed her to see what the others had. Soft red light surrounded her body, her eyes glowing a pure red. Her scream caught in her throat and tears rolled down her purple and blue bloodied cheeks.

***

Aurora stumbled through the door having unlocked it with her shaking hands and her mom called out her name. The only noise that could escape her was a pained sob.

"Oh my God! David call an ambulance!!" Her mothers voice sounded ragged and scared as she ran to her, helping her to lay down on the sofa. Aurora shook her head painfully. She must have jarred her neck or something.

"N.. No ambulance... Th-they'll arrest me.. I'm a m.. mutant..." The words were all that she could give as darkness consumed her body once more. And she could only pray that her parents would keep her safe for now.

***

Her room. It was dark. Lights flickered over the cream walls of her bedroom from behind the curtains and the sound of shouting and chants invaded her eardrums. She peeked around the side of the curtain to see a mob of around thirty to forty people. They were throwing things at her house and spraying the word 'MUTANT' in large red painted letters over her family's property. Tears welled in her eyes as fear gripped her heart; she curled up into the fetal position in the corner of her room, rocking a little as a the first sob racked her body. The deafening smash of a rock shattering the glass of her bedroom window made her whimper, they were going to kill her for sure this time. All because she was a mutant.

The screams from familiar voices filled her ears and pulled her back to what was important. Her parents. She crawled through the room to the hallway and looked down the stairs to where she had heard the cries come from. Nothing. But she could hear voices downstairs, and they did not belong to he mom and dad. Grabbing her dad's old baseball bat, she crept down the stairs to where the muffled voices were coming from.

"What do we do? They fucking weren't mutants!!"

"I don't know! What the hell makes you think that I know?"

The sound of the bat clattering to the wooden floor didn't reach her ears. The blood. The bodies...

*Bamf*

Author's Note

Hey guys, sorry for the short chapter and rather morbid beginning - I promise it will lighten up considerably in the next chapters :)

This is the first public story that I have written so I hope that it's okay and up to standard! I'd love to hear your comments and criticisms in the next few weeks, so feel free to write to me with your opinions (or, of course, just to read and enjoy the story)

Lesen sie weiter!

**

As a side note, I do not own the X-Men characters, only Aurora so far. Also the artwork for the front cover is by the comic artist Todd Nauck who is currently drawing the Nightcrawler series, so I don't own that either