X-Men: Strife

The Quiet

She swept her long blond hair over her shoulder and waded into the water. It was a beautiful day to spend at the beach and Cynthia Summers was determined to enjoy every minute of it. She dragged her hands in the water that reached just barely past her knees and smiled as she a couple of boys surfing in the distance. Surfing was one of her favorite past times, but today she had left her board at home. She wondered if their was any possibility that she could persuade the boys to let her borrow one of their boards.

The scorching hot sun beat down on her back, but she simply lowered herself down into the water to avoid getting too hot. She crossed over the sandbar and jumped into the deeper water. The waves crashed and whirled around her. She dove into them and underneath the especially large waves that threatened to knock her over.

The farther out she went, the more at home she was. There were less people in the deeper water and that was a reason for excitement. She could finally be alone. There were no friends, parents, or strangers to distract her from her thoughts. With the exception of the two surfers who had spotted her floating among the seaweed and had decided to come her way. She gazed down at her hair and studied the light blue hue that could be seen if you looked close enough. Soon, she would have to dye it again. It had crossed her mind to just let it be its natural color, because now it was common to have pastel colored hair, but she didn't want people to view her as punk or goth.

She turned her attention to the surfers when she saw them approach her in her peripheral vision. She flashed them a huge grin and prepared to greet them.

"What are you doing out here so deep?' The dark-haired boy asked.

Is it so strange to swim this far from shore? Cynthia contained the urge to negatively respond to his comment. Instead she laughed and gave a cheerful answer.

"I like to be where I can't touch the ground....it makes it easier to float and when I have my board I can normally catch a wave."

Any concern that she might have been lost or injured left their minds and they became more relaxed.

"You surf?" They asked in unison.

Cynthia opened her mouth to answer, but was interrupted when a huge wave came toppling towards them. She quickly dove into it and kicked until she reached the surface. The boys were already floating on the top of the water.

"Yeah. I live down by that port over there, so I come her quite often."

She had suspected that the two boys were brothers. They interacted very much like how her dad and Uncle Scott did when ever they were around each other. Their faces looked very similar and they seemed to have some of the same mannerisms.

"That's cool. We are down here with our mom and dad on vacation."

They are brothers! She wasn't surprised that they were in Florida on vacation. Tourists were always on the beach or exploring the attractions hours away from her house. It was so odd how they seemed to be so entertained by place she had come to know and love. There wasn't much magic left in Disney when you had visited it a hundred times.

"Where are you guys from?"

Another wave rushed towards them, but this time Cynthia kept her head above the water rather than swim beneath.

"Virginia." The younger boy replied.

She wiped the salt-water out of her eyes and took a deep breath of air. She was getting tired of keeping herself buoyant. The shore looked like a wonderful destination where she could recover and then get in the ocean again. The three teens glanced at each other in silence. Cynthia didn't have anything to say to them, so she waited to see if one of them would start a conversation again.

"Soooooo....My name is Joshua and this is Dylan..."

Dylan was the older brother and Joshua was the younger. She could remember that.

"I'm Cynthia."

"Nice to meet you" Dylan said with a genuine smile on his face.

"Same to you."

Cynthia took that as an ending to their conversation. She swam with the waves and kicked to get the most momentum so she could quickly get back to shore. It had been so sweet of them to check to make sure she was alright. She didn't need any help and she was certainly no damsel in distress. Cynthia blocked any emotion and crushed that fluttery feeling in her stomach. The last thing she needed was to lose control in a public setting like a beach. The towel she had laid on the ground would be waiting for her along with the small cooler that her snacks for the day.

After checking to make sure that her bathing suit was still on correctly she stepped out of the water and crossed onto the dry sand. She spotted the familiar patch of beach that contained her belongings. It was a good distance away due to the fact that she had drifted when the current pulled her. The hot sun felt good as it began to dry her wet body. Rivulets of water dripped down her legs, back, and stomach. As she walked she scanned the ground for any seashells unique enough to be added to her collection. When she reached the section of the beach that she had claimed she looked for the green towel that would mark her spot. There was a man! Just laying on her towel as if it was his.

Who is he?

Cynthia rushed over to him and looked down into the grey sunglasses that covered his eyes.

"That's mine!"

"Is that so Darling? I was completely unaware."

The words rolled off his tongue and he never even flinched. He just stretched a little and made himself a little bit more comfortable. Cynthia decided to kick his leg. Perhaps that would get him to leave.

"Oi! What was that for?"

"Move" she growled.

She felt the sand around her feet start to move and she cried out in shock. It was building up and forming some kind of shape. It's an X.... The "X" was very familiar to Cynthia. It was the symbol of her parents heritage and could even be found on some old t-shirts in her drawer. The X-Men...

"Now that I have your attention. Allow me to explain."

A/N: Words in Italics are thoughts. (: Any thoughts, suggestions, or comments?