Chapter One: Greetings
“I don’t know what to say.” I hummed. Davis leaned coolly against the doorframe and smirked. I rolled my eyes scooping up the pillowcase on the bed and tossed it to the nearly empty hamper just inside the closet. “I’m sorry? Is that what you want to hear? Because you and I both know I’m not.”
“You’re not a kid anymore.” Davis lectured. “You need to start acting your age. You can’t just slap on a costume and start fighting crime like you used to. You used to be part of a team. You gave that up; remember?”
“Blah, blah, blah. I’m Davis and I like to sound like a broken record!” I teased. Davis’ hollow face sunk into a deep uneven frown. I froze. I hadn’t noticed the puffy purple circles underlining his eyes until now. Davis caught my gaze and sighed. He ran a rough hand across his jaw and shook his head.
“It’s nothing.” He grumbled, but his voice fell flat from the lie. I staggered forward. Davis wasn’t just my annoying overbearing older brother, he was my best friend and I was his. There was this giant vine connecting our hearts together and even if I wanted to, I couldn’t get rid of that unbreakable bond. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I could read Davis’ face exceptionally well. I could so easily see the worry painted from one faint wrinkle to the next. It lined his face like railroad tracks. Why had I ignored it? My big brother was scared I’d get myself into some kind of trouble I couldn’t get myself out of. He wasn’t worried before, was he?
“We were cleaning, remember?” I asked shoving the mop towards my brother. He gripped the stem and smiled. I turned on my heels and started to strip the beds of their dingy lining. Davis’ footsteps filled the abandoned room. Right about now, the kids were having lunch with Rosie in the kitchen. One of the greatest things about leaving the X-men was that Charles, being the saint that he was, gave me enough money to fund my own “sister” institution. The difference between Lucille’s Institution for the Gifted and Charles’ Institution was that Lucille’s was an orphanage. Even though there was still a lot of mutant hate going around, people had become more tolerant of their fellow humans with the recent “alien invasions” so I didn’t really see a point in having another billion dollar school. Orphans need a place too.
“What are you thinking about now?” Davis grunted. I glanced up and smiled at the brute of a man. The beds were naked and a sloppy pile of blankets rested at my ankles. I gave a dull shrug on my shoulders and rocked back on my heels. Davis arched his caterpillar brows upward at me. He was taunting me, and yet, a part of him was seriously intrigued.
“I was just reminiscing in some of the good old times, old chap!” I chirped giving the room a quick one over. “And, I guess, a small part of me was wondering if we were going to expand. This place is too small, don’t you think?”
“Marla.” Davis groaned. “You can’t be serious. We’ve talked about this, we can’t afford anything and we can’t live off of Charles’ money forever. He’s already done too much. This is a non-profit organization; we barley get by on what we have. I know the space is small, but it’s got character.”
“Character? So that’s what we’re calling it now?” I sneered. “That’s just a fancy way of sayin’ broken. These kids are beautiful. They deserve better than rations and a cramped living space. Davis, we’ve gotta do somethin’!”
“What do you suggest?” He barked. I flinched at his tone. He pressed all of his weight into the mop and held his breath.
“I don’t know.” I murmured. “They are my kids; I want to give them the world, don’t you?”
“You know I do.” His voice softened. I raked my fingers through my hair and sighed.
“I need air.”
“Marla, don’t.” He growled. I scolded him with my eyes.
“You said it yourself, I’m an adult. I do what I want!” I let out a hearty chuckle and exited the room. Davis lingered. I could feel his condescending stare even after I was gone. Even though it came out as a joke, we both knew there was certain harshness in my voice. It was Marla talk for “back off, you’re smothering me”.
I kicked off my shoes and slowly cracked open the front door. All at once, the moist summer air hit me. Without giving it another thought, I pulled the door all the way open. Birds. I could hear their mocking chirps and the cranky moan of a lawnmower somewhere off in the distance. I sealed my eyes shut and got lost in the outside world. The wind, in all of her glory, whipped my hair in tight circles behind my back.
“Marla?” Jolene’s voice shook me back to life. I took a second to analyze the situation. I wasn’t exactly on the ground anymore. Caught between the doorframe and the front porch, I was hovering just a few inches above the floor. I pressed my lips into a frown and wiggled my toes. “Where are you going?”
“Out.” I said, and just like that, I took to the air.
Author’s Notes:
Please excuse the super short chapter. I hope you enjoyed it though! And just so we’re clear, it’s not the entire chapter. The next entry will be longer but I wanted to get a feel of my fanbase before I put too much up. Why, you might ask? I want to see how much people know about their superheroes and if they’re dedicated enough to the story before I put too much into it. Does that make sense or do I sound crazy? This is all just character building and I proise they all tie together eventually. Like Jolene and Davis, if you read the whole “Superhero” blog, you’d understand that they are Marla’s siblings. Clara is missing and I promise that ties into the story as well. So, I guess your next question (if you have questions) is “is this a love story?” All I can say is that there are SOME romantic tendencies. Marla was part of the X-men if you hadn’t picked that up by now and she’s not terribly unattractive, so basically, she had a few admirers. Who? Well, read and find out!
HINT: I love Gambit, Quicksilver, and Wolverine.
HINT: Those three will be making an appearance but they won’t necessarily be her ex-lovers.
Peace, Love, & Villains,
Rachel
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Safe & Sound: A Marvel Universe Fan-Fic (Avengers & X-Men)
FanfictionShe's been running her entire life, or at least the day her powers started kicking in. But running isn't so easy when you've been trained to use your skills to help protect the less fortunate. Marla Anne is torn between the world she knows and loves...
