Wanted Mutants

Chapter 19

“Come in…” as the door opened she saw Ragnarök's face, and she pushed the door shut with her power.

“I thought you said I could come in?” she felt her heart start to race as once again the door opened, and he walked through, closing the door behind him. He slowly walked over, “May I sit?” she nodded as he sat at the end of her bed, “So….

“Wait… is it true?” he let out a sigh, and he folded his arms,

“Jinx is always talking badly about me.” his eyes dropped to the floor. He didn't look remorseful, but his facial expression was complicated to read,

“Is it true!” she stared at him, hoping he would meet her gaze. She wanted to look him in his eyes, as she hoped for him to be honest. A few moments passed before he returned her gaze,

“Kind of, I guess… It's hard to explain without painting a grim picture.” He chuckled in an effort to lighten the mood.

“I see.” She shifted as she wrapped her arms around her knees as she pulled them close to her chest. “Fine... don't tell me...”

“It's a compatibility issue ... my powers don't exactly cooperate with others. I have burned people before...” He looked at her and sighed, "most of my ex's... the reasons are different, but it always comes back to our powers not meshing well." he ran his fingers through his soldering hair, "I do admit that half of these relationships I don't start... I just don't have the heart to reject them"

“That’s not always a good thing.... To lead someone along and then leave them...” she sighed as she buried her face in her knees. She didn't expect him to open up. Her chest tightened as anxiety sent her mind to work.

“Why are you always so sad?” She looked up at him as his eyes seemed to flash from gray to a golden orange, his curiosity burned in his eyes.

“I am just not used to being talked to... Having free time is rather new to me. My life was them telling me what to do. My family was different. They thought of me as more of a tool than a person.” She felt herself cringe at the thought of her mother and father. “I never knew why they treated me that way. All I knew was that they tolerated my existence…” she trailed off, as her eyes dropped to the floor and her eyes began to water, “that’s why when all of you are being nice to me, it's nice... it reminds me of my friends at school.” The tears seemed to fall from her face as she began to sniffle,

“Hey, it's ok…” he scooted closer to her as he pulled her into his arms. A steady heat radiated off of his body,

“No it's not… when all of you go out of your way to help me and I can’t do anything in return for any of you.” She clung to him as she began to cry,

“They must have kept you in the darkest place possible for you to feel this way.” He ran his finger through her hair as he tried to calm her down. “Look, they can’t hurt you anymore so you are safe.” She wanted to believe him but a piece of her knew that those words were hollow. “My name is Eric.” She looked up at him as he smiled gently at her, “Yea we all have normal names behind the code names.” He pauses as he slyly moved her into his lap and he sat back against her bed as he cradled her. “I was from one of the mountain cities. The name escapes me, but when I lived there it was only me and my dad. He was an engineer of sorts, but he was a very kind and very generous man.” As she sat against him, she could feel his body heat rise and fall with his heart beat. He was like a heater as he kept her very warm, “I remember when I was seven he used to take me to the museum and park when he could.” His voice seemed to waver as he continued “But one day he had come home late, and I could tell something was wrong. But I didn’t know what; he just didn’t seem himself. He was frantic as he stormed about our house. When he looked at me and told me… he told me that… that would be the last time we would see each other.” He stopped, and she looked up at him, “That night he told me that when I was young my mother died to protect me from those who knew.”

“What do you mean?”

“I was born with my powers. A few days after my birth I ran an incredibly high fever but was perfectly fine. But as my fever rose, so did their fears.” He sighed, “I was three months old when my mother died in a fire that I caused. My father had managed to hide me from the enforcers for as long as he could, but he knew he would have to give me up, so he took me to the walls of my city, and he left me on the outside. I remember the doors to my home city closing in my face and being left in the outside world alone.” She sat up as he looked at her, “I understand not having a perfect family life. We are all messed up on the inside. But that’s why we have to try.” He reached for her face but she pulled away,

“I need to know something. What is your interest in me?!” Her blue eyes locked with his as she glared at him,

“You know you can be very intense sometimes…” he sat up and scooted away just a bit, but her eyes never left his,

“My intensity is because of how I was raised. Now tell me why you are being so nice, and I want the truth.” She squinted at him as her tone was flat and harsh, “Because now that I know what you are capable of… im not so sure what you are doing is wise.”

“Okay Captain, serious, chill out.” He put his hand over her mouth as she glared at him, “I can't deny my attraction to you... and...”

“Let me stop you before you continue. I think you need to think this through before you say anything to me. You may be older than me, but I feel you still don’t know the consequences of your actions.” Her words made him snort as he rolled his eyes,

“Wow, so you do bite....” She stood up, and she walked over to her window as she snorted,

“Forgive me for being who I am. After all, I could be just like my mother, cold and unforgiving.” She hugged herself as she looked out the window. The afternoon sun was baking the red desert compound.

“You can’t honestly think that?” she turned to look at him as he curiously looked at her from her bed. “I mean you can’t think that you and her are the same?”

“It is possible, genetically speaking that is.” She sighed as she slowly walked back over to the bed,

“I don’t believe that. You are not cold and calculating. You just need time to adjust, and you’ll be fine.” She looked him in his eyes,

“Adjust. Perhaps in time I will be different, but for now I am the girl my parents raised me to be.” She walked over to the door, “Thank you for visiting, but I would like to use my free time as I see fit .” He slowly sat up,

“You sure I can't persuade you to spend the day with me.” He raised his eyebrows at her, but she frowned, “Alright, I'm gone.” He stood up and casually walked over to where she stood, “Enjoy your day.” He leaned in and quickly kissed her on the forehead and he left. She closed the door as she placed her fingers on her forehead. ‘He really likes me? Or is it another lie?’ She spent the rest of her day reading and familiarizing herself with her team's barracks. As the sun set and dinner was served, she decided to eat alone in her room. When she was done, she took the plate to the kitchen before returning to her room, and she quickly climbed into bed. She laid awake for a few minutes of reflection, before shutting her eyes to sleep.