Obsidian Eyes

7.

Alex,  Scott and hank walked back to the mansion together to show him around.
I remain outside, sitting on the stone edge of the water,  watching my surroundings. Often my eyes dragging to the girl at the archery.

The proffesor appraoches me in his silver wheelchair.

"Petra" he says simply.

"proffesor" I mimic his tone, emotionless.

He look out at the greenery before us.
At the students walking,  studying and chatting.

"it's quite amazing,  don't you think" he states.

I furrow my eyebrows.
"what do you mean?"

"it's extraordinary. Most of the students here thought themselves to be monsters when theyre powers first showed themselves.
"each and every one experiences a fear of themselves. And yet here they are. In control. Content in the world"
He says meaningfully.

I glance down. "it is'
"extraordinary I mean.  But I wouldn't call it amazing" I state.

The proffesor looks up at me.
"why so?"

"well.  This entire place is extraordinary. Out of the ordinary. What you've built is great.  But amazing?  I feel like once you've experience that fear of yourself. Once you've truly felt afraid... In comparison being simply content with yourself could seem amazing to the individual.
"but this,  it's not really amazing. To anyone else it's simply... Normal"

He smiles sadly. "such sad and wise words from someone so young.
Who are you?"

"My name is Petra"

"and what do you do, Petra?"

"would you like a demonstration?"

"if you'd be so kind" he smiled.

I slow my breathing and silence fills my ears. I slowly my right arms reaching out with my mind, my soul,  and grabbing hold of every inch of darkness around us.

The shadows beneath our feet,  the shade beneath the trees contorted and stretched out towards us.  Rising and solidifying.  I gripped onto the tendrils like swords. Shaping them in my hands. the power felt so good, it was intoxicating. Every inch of me screamed to let go, to see what would happen, to see how much power there was in that well inside me. 
But more begin to rise up from beneath us,  some emerging from my hands themselves.
The inky whorls begin to spread out rather than in to me,  ignoring my silent commands.

With a sudden breath, I let them go, and they snapped back into place. I go cold, hating the feeling.  My right hand shakes at the unexpected loss of control.

After several moments of silence,  filled with the stares of passing students, he spoke.

"Petra, that was beautiful. Terrifying,  but beautiful. I must say you have quite the control over these abilities. When did they first emerge?"

I stiffened at the question,  unsure of how to answer.

"uh,  the first time when I was only six" I say,  and surprise spreads over his face.

"six!  You were only six years old when your power manifested? Most mutant abilities don't emerge until mid adolescence, like scott"

"well,  they had some intense motivation" I mumble.

"what do you mean? "

I dont try to look away. i stare at him as i reply. Wondering if he should feel pity. 

"As a child i was subject to frequent and brutal experimentation in attempt to force the ability out" i tell him. the legendary professor x. his face softens, and for a moment i feel disgust towards him. 

"oh Petra,  I'm so sorry. The house you came from...? " he begins kindly but I cut him off.

"a mere foster home actually.  Only stayed there two nights" I tell him.

"if you ever wish to speak to someone-" the proffesor begins with sympathy but I cut him off.

"No." I say,  masking a smile and
jump down from the stone wall.
"I should probably find Scott.  Get that tour" I say quickly, and begin to walk away,  tired of the professors sympathy gaze. they were the x men. he was a powerful telepathic. They knew about the facility i was in and they did nothing about it. i didnt care whether the professor lied, whether he saw into my mind or even if he had no idea. there was a pit in my stomach that held an instense dislike for him. I wasnt exactly sure why, yet. 

____

Later that night,  I lie awake in the bedroom they gave me. It's bare and devoid of character. But it's warm, and feels safe.

I hear noises and voices in the hall.

I flip the blanket off of me  with a chill and plant my bare feet on the chilled wooden floor.

I open the door a crack and peer into the hall and see hank and the proffesor.
"back to bed, back to bed everyone" Charles tells the children emerging from their rooms just as i did.

The mansion shook subtly, the lights hanging from the roof swung slightly from the thuds.

"don't let any of the children come this way" I hear Charles whisper.

The students slowly go back to their rooms,  eyes darting back.

I slow my breathing, and relax. I reach out to the darkness in the room and pull.
I wrap the shadows around me like a cloak, keeping me hidden from sight as I slide into the hallway. it was a handy trick i learned young. i wasnt quite invisble, but what the light doesnt hit, the eye cannot see. 

It's difficult to see through the  fog of darkness, but I make out enough to float into the room with the proffesor.

A sudden heat washes over me. I let some shadows fall so that I can see,  and I see her.
The red haired girl stirring in her bed,  the walls behind her blackening and smoking. 

The proffesor stops beside her.
"jean" he calls her.
"jean! JEAN" he raises his voice as I tell she is causing him pain.

Two telepaths, I can't imagine the connection he has with this nightmare of hers.

She stirs awake, sweat dripping.

She meets the proffesor eyes,  "I saw the end of the world" she whispers.
"I could feel all this death"

"it was just a dream" Charles reassures.

She shakes her head in distress. 
"no,  it felt real-"

I don't listen to what Charles says. My mind,  and eyes,  are focused on her.
Jean,  as I now know is her name.

I can feel all this darkness... I can feel the fear radiating from her. It strikes me deep and I almost stumble at the feel of it.  I know that the is frightened of herself. Of her power and what it means.

"I'm afraid one day I'm going to hurt someone" I hear her say,  confirming my thought.

"lie back. You will learn to control your powers. And when you do,  you'll have nothing to fear" the proffesor tells her with reassuring finality, before leaving her to rest.

She watches him go with her blue eyes. She takes a deep breath and leans back,  her eyes gazing over to my position in the corner.

I snap the shadows back into place, hiding my face from view. But I see those blue eyes narrow,  knowing she saw me.

Hello all. 
It's me. Ya boy.

Anyway so just a little note, each chapter should be like in between 1000-2000 words :)

So,  Petra already pretty intrigued by Jean! But this is still the vanilla stage of crushes and subtle power exploitation.
There will be some much darker themes towards the end of this fic folks. You get to decide whether our narrator here,  Petra, is a hero or the villain of this love story.  Can't wait.

Thanks.